


Unexpected

by AnnaDreyar



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Edolas Arc, F/M, team natsu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2019-11-24 13:45:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18165974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaDreyar/pseuds/AnnaDreyar
Summary: After Lucy met Natsu and he saved her from Bora, she used Aquarius to take the ship back to the beach, but the swirl of water took her to an island where she is saved by a stranger with a cape. It was not Natsu who took Lucy to Fairy Tail, it was a mysterious man, she was willing to unravel. [MystLu]





	1. Introduction

Life is wonderful when you're not stuck in a gigantic mansion with no one to talk beyond employees that you never know if they like you or feel obliged to please you because they're paid for it. Having to live with a father who acts like if you are not just a burden he is forced to carry until he throws you into the hands of the first rich and unscrupulous tycoon who will pay the largest amount of money to have an 18 year old girl to wife.

Yes, the life is good when you have freedom, even though money is scarce. That's what Lucy told herself every day after she ran away from home before she was old enough to get married. Now she wanders through the cities, working as a freelance mage until finds the guild she dreams of entering since she was a little girl.

"I think he gave me a miserable discount. My beauty is only worth 1,000 jewels." Lucy grunted to herself, walking the streets of Hargeon.

"Salamander." Several girls screamed running in the middle of the street.

The realization hit Lucy.  _'Salamander is a Fairy Tail mage and I've never seen a picture of him before, I can see him in person.'_  She followed in the same direction as the girls were running.

Lucy spotted before a man with rings on the fingers, surrounded by many girls. Every step she took toward the crowd made her feel a strange attraction to the mage with the rings. She feel an inexplicable and annoyingly lack of control. _'What's happening with me?'_

Suddenly a boy with pink hair followed by a blue cat appeared making a lot of noise and Lucy thanked for the distraction that brought her back to reality. "So, this jerk uses enchantment magic to attract girls."

After everyone dispersed Lucy approached the boy and the stranger blue cat. "Hi, I'm Lucy, I want to thank you for helping me. I'll repay you with lunch." She smiled and dragged them to the nearest restaurant before they had a chance to protest.

* * *

Lucy completely regretted offering to pay for lunch when she saw them both inhaling an abnormal amount of food.  _'Is their stomach endless?'_

She ignored the lack of table manners and kept talking about how she wanted to join in a guild, even though the two of them were too busy eating all the food in the restaurant to answer anything other than their names.

She said goodbye to Natsu and Happy and headed to the square where she met again with Salamander who invited her to an party on his ship. He said he would get her into Fairy Tail if she attended the party.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity to join the guild of her dreams, she hurried toward the cheap hotel where she was staying and put on the only party dress she could pack before she ran away from home. She checked to see if the keys were attached to the strap on the thigh and ran towards the harbor where the ship would be waiting for her.

She found out too late that the idiot Salamander was a damn slave trader. But amazingly Natsu and Happy appeared on the right time. Happy took her to the sea where she was able to retrieve the which had been launched by the idiot Salamander. She summoned Aquarius who not only sent the boat to the harbor destroying everything in the path as also send Lucy and Happy in a whirlpool of water. The cat landed on the beach near Natsu, who was struggling with the supposed Salamander, but Lucy was not so lucky.

Natsu discovered that the impostor was using the name of his guild and it infuriated him. He defeated the bad guys and ended up further destroying the city. Then when the soldiers arrived, he had to flee with Happy in tow. "Hey Happy, where's the blonde girl?" He asked while they ran.

"I don't know Natsu, she called a crazy mermaid that made a whirlpool of water out of a jar, taking everything that was in the way." Happy replied while flying without looking back.

"Do you think she's okay?" Natsu was a little worried.

"They were friends." Happy remembered the mermaid's attitude. "Well, sort of."

"Okay." Natsu was uncertain about looking for her or not. But if Happy said she was with a friend, then she would be safe.

* * *

The sun warmed the skin and the eyes burned because the salt of the sea. Lucy opened the eyes and felt a headache trying to remember what had happened.  _'Oh, right. Aquarius happened.'_ She looked around and tried to get up, which was no easy task when the high heel sank into the sand.

She remembered the fight with that idiot Fairy Tail mage and how Natsu and Happy showed up and helped her. And then she was sent across the sea by a whirlpool of water. "I hope Happy has had more luck." Lucy sighed in anger and desperation for being sent to what was, apparently an island, completely alone. "You went overboard this time, Aquarius." She grunted out loud.

She was probably already suffering from lack of water. "Is talking with myself a sign of insolation?"

Lucy walked, heading for the trees, looking for shade and maybe a water source if she was lucky.

After a few hours walking through the dense forest, seeing nothing but trees and insects, her legs and feet ached and she had several cuts on the legs and arms where the prickly branches had scratched. She sighed looking up at the sky that was not so clean as a few hours earlier and decided she needed a shelter. "Please don't rain until I find a cave or something, please, please, please."

She walked for a while longer until the sun disappeared almost completely, making her feel a tightness in the chest for being alone in the middle of a near dark forest. She gathered some dry branches and surrounded them with stones, remembering to have read about it in a book, after almost half an hour trying, she was able to light the fire. Screaming with enthusiasm at the first good thing on that terrible day, she took off the shoes, staring at the bubbles that now adorned her feet, sitting against a stone near the fire, she tore the bottom of the dress, using the cloth to cover the wounds.

When she felt the raindrops begin to fall on her face, she managed to hold back the tears that formed in the corners of the eyes. "The universe hates me... Or maybe is just Aquarius who hates me."

She lay on the ground beneath a leafy tree, resting the head on a pile of dried leaves, praying that no animal would eat her at night and that perhaps the fire would not quench because of the drizzle causing her to die of hypothermia. When she closed the eyes waiting for sleep to embrace her, she could no longer hold back the tears and cry alone waiting for morning to arrive.

* * *

He was accustomed to solitude. Being away from his world has long ago made him accept it. Owning the face of a person who was not very dear in this world made things even more complicated.

He was grateful to Master Makarov for having accepted him and given him a place to call home when he was still a teenager, but he could not afford to approach people, he needed to accomplish the mission of containing the Animas and protect the Earth. Solitude was necessary.

He walked for the Tenrou Island which was his favorite place when he needed to take time to walk the world behind Animas. Looking towards a big stone with the symbol of Fairy Tail made him remember that he needed to go to the guild soon to get a mission.

The sun was rising and looked like it was not going to rain soon, it would be a good day for some training. He stopped on his way smelling of smoke and felt the forehead furrowed unconsciously, knowing no one should be on that island since it was not a time for Fairy Tail S-Class events. He followed the smell of burnt wood and was surprised to see a blonde girl lying on the floor wearing a torn party dress. He watched her for a few minutes before deciding to approach, realizing she was dirty and bruised, but not all the dirt on the dress and the leaves stuck in the hair diminished her beauty.

He walked over to her and knelt down, touching her shoulder, lightly to not scare her. It was obvious that she needed help and he being a Fairy Tail mage, a guild that does not deny help, was willing to take her away from that island.

He watched when she opened the brown eyes that had a glow on them and stared at him for a few seconds in silence. He could take a closer look at her and noticed that her eyes had small bright spots near the iris, her lips were full and rosy, and her hair was incredibly golden, beneath all the branches and dry leaves. He found her incredibly captivating.

"Do you need any help?" He said in a voice muffled by the mask covering his mouth.

Lucy examined the stranger in front of her who wore a navy blue cape and had the hair and face covered, preventing her from analyzing him properly. She could only see his dark eyes that had obvious concern reflected in them and decided that he had beautiful eyes.

In a normal situation Lucy would have screamed and kicked this strange suspect but this was not a normal situation and, at that moment, this mysterious man was the only salvation. So Lucy did what anyone desperate for help would do. She lifted herself from the hard floor where she lay and jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thank you." She screamed. "I don't know who you are, but I don't think I could be happier to see someone as I'm at the moment."

When the excitement passed she noticed what was doing and moved away from him. "Wait, what are you doing on this damn island, abandoned by God? Are you a killer? A fugitive?" She said cautiously, stepping away from him.

He gave a hoarse laugh. "No, I'm not a killer and I'm not running away. I'm a Fairy Tail mage. Pleasure, my name is Mystogan." He said holding out the hand to her.

Lucy was still kneeling before him, she smoothed the dress and squeezed his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mystogan. I'm Lucy, my dream is to be a mage of Fairy Tail."

She could tell he was smiling even under the mask that covered his mouth. His eyes were lit up and there were little wrinkles around them. "I can get you off this island and take you to the guild."

She gave a cheerful cry and without thinking she threw her arms around him again, but this time he hugged her back. He did not know what was about this girl but he felt something special how if she had a light that could illuminate every dark corner of his soul.

* * *

They walked for a time in silence until he noticed that she had pain in her feet. Then he pulled the staff from the back and knelt in front of her. "Climb."

"Oh, you don't need..." She said and kept walking.

He pulled her fist gently. "I insist and while I'm taking you, you tell me how you came to here."

She gave in because she was too weak for a verbal fight. "Thank you, my savior."

He helped her up his back, grateful that face was covered by the mask and she could not see the blush on his cheeks because her words.

Lucy told everything from the point where she met Salamander until she was swept away by the water of Aquarius.

Mystogan laughed and she scolded him. "I'm glad my misfortune brings you joy."

"I'm sorry for that, it's that Natsu is the true Fairy Tail Salamander and he probably thought Salamander was his lost dragon and ran behind the track." He said, still laughing a little.

"Oh, that makes sense. He said something about a dragon." She answered.

"So you're a celestial mage?" He ask with curiosity.

"Yes, when I recover I can show you my magic." She offered with a smile even knowing he could not see her face.

"I would like this, Lucy."

"Hm, what is your magic, Mystogan ?" She asked with curiosity wondering what kind of mage he was.

For some completely unknown reason he realized that he liked a little too much to hear her calling his name "My staffs, I carry them with magic."

"Oh, so it's like me and my keys, but what if you lose your staff?"

"I have other tricks." He said, stopping in front a cave. "Let's get some rest here. I'll change the bandages off your feet and get some food." He sat her down on a rock and knelt in front of her, looking down at her injured feet. He unfolded the cloth of the dress and found that it was worse than he expected, there were cuts, bubbles and dried blood. "This is ugly, it can be infected. I need some plants that have an element of healing, wait here and shout if something happens." He said walking to the exit of the cave.

"I'll be right here when you back." She said with a smile, despite the obvious pain she was feeling.

 _'She has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.'_  He told himself before heading out into the forest.

* * *


	2. Knowing

Mystogan returned to the cave after almost an hour, bringing fruits and some leaf that Lucy had never seen before, not that she would go around looking for leaves anyway. He walked over to her and placed some apples and peaches on her lap.

She looked at the fruit on the lap and felt her mouth salivate. "Thank you, I haven't eaten in awhile." She said truthfully and devoured half a peach with a single bite.

"I see." He said with amusement as he watched her devour the fruit as if it were the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

"Do you want some?" She offered after realizing the lack of manners.

He shook the head in denial and shoved the fruit back to her. "Eat, you'll need energy." He knelt before her and took some of the utensils from his backpack, crumpled the sheets he had picked in the forest, made a cream and gently he passed the cream on the wounds that were scattered across the blonde's shapely legs in front of him.

When he ran the fingers with cream in her feet, she giggled. "Someone has tickles." He said with a small smile beneath the mask, amused to see her squirm every time he ran his fingers over her skin.

"Don't have fun at my expense, Mighty Lord Fairy Tail Mage." She scolded him, but it did not have the desired effect as she said it between giggles.

"I never said I was powerful." He said lightly when he finished the task of covering her bruises.

"Okay, no powerful, just mysterious." She stared into his eyes while wiping the mouth with the back of her hand.

He cleared the throat and stood up. "Hmm, I think we should camp out tonight, you can't walk with your feet like this." He tried to change the subject and did not know what reason to be so uncomfortable with her look, he felt like a teenager full of hormones, what was ridiculous.

"Another day in this place." She tried to hide her disappointment. "Well, I'm not alone anymore." She tried to sound optimistic and smiled to him.

* * *

Lucy packed some fruit for them to eat in the afternoon, so he would not have to leave again, she did not want to give unnecessary work to the man who had done so much for her. She used a leafy tree branch to clean the floor of the cave. She wanted to be useful somehow.

Mystogan knelt in front of his backpack and pulled out a sleeping bag, then a large green blanket, he placed the staffs in the backpack and when he turned to face Lucy he found her looking to him with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"It's magic." He clarified as he understood why she was looking to him like that. "Is useful for someone who travels a lot." He said with a nervous laugh.

"I need one of these." She stated with conviction. Then he thought about what he said and looked to him again. "I thought you spent more time with your guild than on missions." She tilted the head curiously.

He found her adorably cute after that gesture. "Not really, I'm usually alone." he replied.

"Loneliness isn't a good friend." She said unconsciously and was almost like a whisper.

He noticed her depressed tone. "What do you know about loneliness, Lucy?" He asked in a soft tone, worried about her change of mood.

He sat down beside her on a fallen tree trunk on the ground. She glared to him and smiled, making him have a bad feeling about what was coming next. "I'll tell you, if you tell me why you hide." She negotiated with him.

He did not want to trust her. He barely knew her. He never let people in, because that would only make life difficult for him. But after looking into her eyes for a few seconds, he felt as if he were being pulled to her with invisible ropes, making impossible for him to escape. "Okay." He said with a defeated sigh.

She pondered whether or not she could trust him, but decided she would give him a vote of confidence after all he'd done for her without expecting anything in return. "Well, I grew up in a mansion with my parents. My mother was a mage, she taught me celestial magic since I remember. When I was seven, she die because an disease that was consuming her magic. My father didn't speak with me, he didn't care about me, it was as if I no longer existed for him, I rarely saw him at dinners or high society parties and my only companions were Cancer and Aquarius, the spirits I inherited from my mother. "

She looked away from him and took a deep breath. "When I was 16, my father began to prepare me with potential heirs for a marriage that would occur after my 18th birthday. I ran away six months ago so I wouldn't have to marry whoever was most suitable for him. I'm going to be 18 in some months. " She gave a dry laughter. "I asked you about hiding, but I'm running away from my own father." She looked to him with watery eyes. "You see, I know loneliness very well."

He stared at her for a few seconds resisting the wish to pull her into a hug. He decided that if she could open up to him without even knowing him, he could reciprocate the gesture of trust. "My name is Jellal, I'm heir to the royal family of a world called Edolas." He took off the bandana and mask, revealing his face to her.

Lucy stared at him in disbelief, not expecting him to take off his mask and show what is under that, so easily. She absorbed every detail of his face. Her blue hair contrasted with dark eyes, perfect and thin nose, full lips and a chiseled chin.  _'He's beautiful.'_

"Wait, another world?" She asked when she had stepped out of the state of torpor she was staring at for his beauty.

He nodded and continued. "My world has no magic, so my father created a machine that forms Animas to extract magic from Earth. I came to Earth when I was still a child willing to find the Animas and stop them." He got lost in thought. "I met a little girl at the beginning of my journey, but I couldn't keep her around, so I left her in a safe place and leave. I discovered very early on that my Earth counterpart is a man who hurt a lot of people, so I hide my face."

Lucy was fascinated by what he had said. "I read a book once, about a world that was a mirror of our, where the people there were the same as in appearance, but with different personalities. It is possible that this author was talking about your world."

"Do you really believe me?" He asked incredulously for her to believe him so easily.

When she nodded, he continued. "When I was 17, Master Makarov found me, I told him part of this story and he accepted me in the guild and helped me to improve my magic. Only him and his grandson, Laxus, know my identity." He scratched the back of his neck. "And you, now."

She put a hand on his knee. "Don't worry Jellal, I'll keep your secret. But I still prefer Mystogan."

He looked at her lips as she said his Earth's name, and he felt he was being hypnotized. "I also prefer." He squeezed her hand in his.

She smiled at the gesture. "I can help you on your mission by looking for Animas." She offered sincerely, willing to return the favor.

"No, you must go to Fairy Tail, make friends and experience adventures." He replied firmly not wanting to involve her in his life of running around the world, completely aimlessly or not knowing where tomorrow would take him, he felt she deserved more.

"I think I've made a friend, Myst." She said the nickname dragging the words, making him blush. "And I think my first adventure will be on this island forgotten by God." She released his hand and ran her hand through the hair, realizing for the first time that she must have looked horrible at that moment.

He laughed. "This island belongs to Fairy Tail, Lu." He smiled, when she blushed this time because the nickname.

"Why does the guild need an island?" She asked confused.

"This is where the first master and founder was buried. This island is used for S-Class exams." He explained.

"Wow, maybe one day I'll take that exam." She said dreamily. "Who are the Fairy Tail Class S magicians?" She propped her elbows on the knees, looking at him curiously.

"Erza Scarlet, Laxus Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss, Gildarts Clive and ... Me." He said the ending lowering his voice.

"Oh, Powerful, then huh." She teased him.

He bit the lower lip, hating himself for feeling so insecure near her. "Then we can rest, tomorrow we leave the sland. When I get to Magnolia, I'll leave you in the guild and leave." He said changing the subject.

Lucy stared at him thoughtfully and asked. "Can you feel the Animas before forming?"

"Yes, I trained my magic for this." He answered with confidence.

"Then you can stay in the guild for a while. You don't have to leave immediately." She said expectantly.

His eyes widened with the statement. "I can't Lucy, I need to keep my secret. The Earth Jellal hurt someone in the guild, too. "

"You just have to keep your face covered." She gave him doggy eyes. "Pleeease, Myst."

He let out a defeated sigh. "Okay, but you keep the others away, I don't want to take any chances." He said seriously.

"Promise." She smiled brightly.

* * *

They talked during the afternoon and realized that they had many things in common despite having different lives. When night fell, Mystogan set a fire to warm them and prepared the sleeping bag with the blanket, knowing that the nights on the Island could be cold. "You sleep in the sleeping bag." He said when he finished packing.

"No way, I can sleep on the floor." She answered.

"What kind of prince would I be if I allowed it?" He said with a little indignation.

"A very modern prince." She made him laugh. "The sleeping bag is big enough for both of us." She said a little insecure.

He widened the eyes and blushed, making her laugh. "Maybe you're a prince of old-fashioned, then."

She pulled his hand making him lie down on the sleeping bag. "We're just going to sleep, okay?" She reassured him and lay next to him.

She turned her back to him and tried to hide the nervousness she was feeling. "Good night, Myst."

He closed the eyes, trying to remain calm as he felt her warm body lean against his."Good night, princess." He decided that this title served her well.

* * *

Lucy woke with the sun's rays over her face through the opening of the cave and felt a comfortable heat against her back as she tried to lift, felt a warm arm around her waist and gasped in her sleepy state. She glanced over the shoulder and saw the relaxed face of Mystogan, making her relax as she remembered sleeping next to him. She was in doubt about moving and waking him or pretending to sleep and waiting for him to wake up.

After few minutes she stroked his arm, gaining a sigh from him. She felt his mouth pressed against the back of her neck, the sigh he released sent shivers down her spine. She tried to be less subtle and ran her fingernail over his skin, slightly. This time he let out a weak moan sending shivers down her body.

She felt him move behind her. Then he pulled away, taking the arm off her. "Good morning, Lucy. Sorry." He sat looking to her.

"Morning, Myst. That's okay." She smiled gently, rising to extinguish the campfire.

He followed her, picking the fruit of the bag and giving it to her. He put away his belongings and put on his clothes, leaving the mask that covered his mouth down this time.

"Can we stop at Hargeon? I don't know how far is from here, but my things are in a hostel there." Lucy asked trying not to annoy him for having to delay his plans.

"It's not so far from here, I can use my magic to get us." He said with a smile, making her realize that it was the first time she saw his smile, and she found a beautiful smile.

She finished eating the fruit. "Can you use transportation magic?"

He smiled, covered the face again, pulling her by the waist to him. "Yes I can." He took one of the staff and landed on the floor, suddenly the darkness swallowed them. Within seconds, they were in the center of Hargeon.

"Wow, that was amazing." Lucy was surprised and amazed. She grabbed his hand and dragged him down the street toward the hostel, forgetting that she was barefoot.

He laughed out loud, ignoring the people around who commented on who this girl was dragging the Mighty Fairy Tail mage through the streets.

* * *


	3. Welcome to Fairy Tail

Lucy walked the Hargeon's streets, pulling Mystogan by the hand. Both were completely unaware of the looks they were receiving. Lucy arrived at the hotel where she had left her things before leaving for the party on the supposed Salamander's ship. She thanked the heavens for having forgotten the open door and left the key inside the room because she did not have enough money to pay for a new key.

"You can sit there." She pointed to the sofa by the window that had a heavy white curtain. "Two days without a bath, I don't know how you got to sleep next to me." She gave a weak laugh as she fumbled for clean clothes.

Mystogan followed her every move with the eyes. He wanted to tell her that even without a shower for two days she still had a delicious scent of almonds and honey, but he decided it would be strange to vocalize that thought. "It was not so bad." He said nonchalantly, deciding it would be a better answer.

Lucy grabbed the clothes she had chosen and walked over to him, in a swift movement she removed the cloth covering his mouth before he could stop her. "Take it off every time we're alone. I don't like when I can't see your face." Then she went into the bathroom, not realizing how much she had stunned him.

"Take your time." He managed to say as the bathroom door closed behind her. Mystogan wondered if she meant to be alone with him in the future. "I'm so screwed!"

* * *

More than half an hour later Lucy left the bathroom, leaving a cloud of steam behind her. Mystogan was sprawled comfortably on the sofa not caring about the wait, he was accustomed to wait, having to wait for every appearance of an Anima every minute of every day. He looked up when he heard the door open and saw Lucy wearing a blue and white outfit, he kept the eyes on her legs for longer than he should and decided that that skirt was too short for his mental health.  _'She is so beautiful.'_

Lucy walked over to him with a smile, she sat next to him and picked up the phone. He overheard her when she asked for room service. "You don't have to ask for anything, Lucy." He said with a little embarrassment.

"You saved me from certain death, took care of my wounded feet, fed me and brought me here with your super incredible magic." She smiled sweetly at him. "Paying you a lunch is just the beginning of your compensation, and I imagine you don't go to restaurants because of the mask."

He smiled unconsciously. "You're right, I avoid eating in public." He confirmed what she had said.

"So, do you have a list of compensations for me?" He asked after a few minutes of silence that had fallen on them.

"I think you can say that." She laughed lightly. She would not tell him she meant to compensate him for the rest of her life because she was really grateful that he saved her.  _'He'll think I'm a crazy stalker.'_

There was a knock at the door and Lucy got up to get the lunch, thanking the delivery man who was disappointed when he received no tip and Lucy did not care.  _'If he knew what the hell I suffered, he'd give me a tip.'_

They ate quietly while Mystogan told Lucy about some Fairy Tail mages. When they finished eating, she straightened her suitcases and stood before him. "Let's get on the train?" She asked.

He laughed lightly. "I don't use trains, Lucy." He said as he covered the face with the mask again. Without warning, he wrapped a arm around her waist and slapped an staff on the floor. Lucy thought to tell him that she had not yet paid for the room, but decided it was too late. She just had to remember never to show up at that hotel again when she were in Hargeon.

* * *

When Lucy opened the eyes she gasped at the sight of the huge wooden door and a flag bearing the Fairy Tail symbol. "Are we really here?!" She asked rhetorically and left his embrace by taking a few steps toward the closed doors. She smiled at the thought that the dream of a life was right before her eyes and all thanks to him.

Before she could open the doors, Mystogan's hand gripped her fist. "What's the matter, Myst?" She asked genuinely intrigued.

He released her arm and rubbed the neck nervously. "Nothing important, it's just that I never entered the guild with everyone awake, before."

Lucy looked at him with a confused expression. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's just that I sort of use a spell that makes everyone fall asleep whenever I need a new mission." He gave a nervous laugh.

Lucy looked at him in disbelief. "Boy, you really have confidence issues." She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside before he could protest again.

They took two steps inside the hall and she was completely stunned by the sight before them. She thought if there was a definition for the word  _chaos_ , then that would be it. Everyone was fighting and throwing things at each other, the tables were turned and there were broken glasses and bottles everywhere.

Suddenly, a dark-haired boy who seemed to be a few years older as she, approached her. "Hey, can I borrow your underwear?"

Lucy realized belatedly that the boy was completely naked. "Kyaaaaa." She screamed loud enough to stop the chaos in the guild. She ran away from the pervert and hid behind Mystogan, knowing that this was the safest place.

As she stepped out from behind Mystogan to look into the room that was too quiet to be normal compared to the noise she'd heard before. She saw that everyone was looking at them and she heard the whispers,  **"Is it Mystogan?" "Why don't we fall asleep?" "Did he bring the blonde girl?"**

Lucy hid again, completely embarrassed that she had become the center of attention. She felt a wind in the back and looked back seeing that the doors of the guild had been abruptly opened, soon after she saw Natsu walking into the guild, followed by Happy. He looked straight at them. "Who is he?" He paused dramatically, staring at the masked man. "Fight me!" He ran with a fist wrapped in flames, ready to start a fight but before he could reach Mystogan, a giant hand appeared and crushed him on the wooden floor.

Lucy was completely paralyzed with all the events and stared at the scary giant with wide eyes, she sighed with relief when the giant turned into a very small man with funny shoes and a pointed hat.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail." Mystogan said over the shoulder and even with the muffled voice of the cloth covering his mouth, Lucy knew he was smiling.

She walked over to Natsu and helped him to his feet. She was surprised by Happy flying toward her, landing hard on her chest. "Hey Happy, I'm glad you survived." She said with a smile.

"After all the confusion I didn't know where you were Lucy, but I knew you'd be safe with your friend Mermaid." Happy said innocently.

Mystogan tried to hold back the laughter after that statement from the blue cat, but he found it impossible. He laughed out loud, making everyone look at him.

"Did I ever tell you that I feel satisfied when my misfortunes make you happy?" Lucy grumbled sarcastically and looked at him with a deadly look.

"Sorry, Lucy." He shuddered under her gaze. Walking over to her, he took her hand and guided her to the old man in funny clothes. "Master Makarov, she is Lucy. She wants to join Fairy Tail since she was a child."

The master was delighted to look at the beautiful blonde before him. "Anyone who is able to bring Mystogan here without him using a sleeping spell is welcome. What is your magic, child?"

"I'm a celestial mage." She said with a smile and pointed to the keys in the belt.

Makarov took a stamp from Mirajane's hands and stood before Lucy. "Where and what color?"

"Right hand." She smiled and looked at Mystogan. "Blue."

Makarov looked at the girl and looked at a few strands of hair from Mystogan that were coming out of the bandana he wore over the head. Smiling knowingly, he placed the stamp on her right hand, leaving a blue mark, the same blue tone that adorned Mystogan's hair.  _'The things can get interesting around here.'_  Makarov thought.

* * *

Mystogan pulled Lucy gently toward the back of the guild, where there were some entire tables after the previous fight. He ignored how everyone's eyes were following them and sat on the bench, pulling her to sit next to him.

Natsu walked toward them and sat down next to Lucy. "Hey, Luigui, what happened at the port? I was going to get you, but Happy said you had a friend to help you."

Lucy looked coldly at Mystogan. "If you laugh, I'll kill you." She threatened and was pleased when he raised his hands in surrender.

Lucy recounted everything that happened after the apparition of Aquarius and how she was saved by Mystogan, giving so few details as possible, so as not to compromise his identity. "By the way, my name is Lucy, LU-CY."

Natsu listened intently, laughing at Lucy's misfortune, she preferred to ignore him.

"So you're the S-Class mage that makes everyone sleep whenever you comes here." Natsu stated and looked at Mystogan with curiosity. "Hey, why do you wear this mask?" He asked still staring at Mystogan steadily. "Let me see..."

Lucy saw Natsu's hand lifting up toward Mystogan's mask and slammed into his hand. "Don't be rude, Natsu." She scolded, ignoring the pout he was doing.

Natsu looked toward the bar and heard Romeo asking for help from the master to retrieve his father, after hearing the master refused to help the boy he stood abruptly and acting on impulse, he grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her toward the door, willing to save Macao, leaving behind a very perplexed Mystogan.

* * *

Late in the afternoon, the guild doors opened to reveal Lucy and Natsu carrying Macao, with Happy flying behind them.

Lucy let Natsu take Macao home with Romeo and walked to the table where Mystogan was waiting patiently. "Sorry about that." She said truthfully. "Natsu seems a bit impulsive, but we managed to get Macau back, that's good, right ?!" She smiled and sat down beside him, completely exhausted after walking through the icy mountains and fighting mutant gorillas.

"I didn't think you were so close." Mystogan said in a cold tone.

Lucy felt her eyes widen with that insinuation. "Hey, I already said that guy is impulsive, and believe me when I say that I spent a lot more time with you than with him." She said defensively.

He noticed how ridiculous he sounded and thanked for the mask on his face at that moment. "Sorry Lu, I didn't mean to offend you."

Lucy bit the lower lip and decided to change the subject. "Can you come with me to look for an apartment? It's almost night, I have nowhere to stay and I don't know this city." She asked timidly.

He smiled, thankful for the change of topic. "Come on." He took her hand in his and walked toward the exit before a pink-haired boy sequestered her one more time.

* * *

Mystogan pushed the wooden bed across the room until it was under the window. "You were very lucky to find a place for 70,000 jewels, Lucy."

She smiled and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of hand. "I'm Lucky Lucy." She stated and rearranged the books on the shelf.

"Is it some sort of inner joke?" He asked with a laugh and sat down on the floor, leaning back on the bed, glad to have finished the tidying up.

Lucy put the last book on the shelf and sat next to him on the floor. "Actually, my mother called me that when I was a kid, but I never knew why." She looked at him and inclined the head as if examining him. "You look so much better dressed like that."

Mystogan looked at the black sweatpants and the white T-shirt that was too tight for his taste. "I can't dress like this ever, I have a secret to keep." He elbowed her in the ribs.

"Yes, yes... the difficulties of having the perfect face of an evil man." She said with a twinge of mockery.

He smiled broadly at that statement. "Oh, I have a perfect face, huh." He lifted a blue eyebrow and brought to her face.

Lucy bit the lower lip, realizing what she had said and feeling embarrassed by their closeness. "It's a good face." She said trying to sound indifferent.

"Your not bad either." He said with a playful smile.

She opened the mouth and put a hand on the chest, pretending to be offended. "I'm a beautiful girl, Mr. Fernandes." She picked a pillow on the bed and slapped his face with it. "Now I'm going to damage your pretty face." She threw the body at him in a childlike attack, laughing while he tried to escape her attacks.

Mystogan won the war of pillows and lay on the wooden floor with a panting breath, hair more disheveled than usual and a silly smile on his face.

"Thank you for helping me with everything." Lucy thanked him as she tried to catch the breath.

"Thank you for offering me your sofa." He stood up and sat beside her on the bed, his back to the window, so no one could see his face.

"Now I need to do a mission, I spent all my savings on the furniture and the first rent." She moaned.

"I'll go with you if-" Mystogan looked out the window before finishing the sentence.

"What happened?" Lucy asked worriedly as she watched his face become apprehensive.

"An Anima is forming. I need to go." He looked at her with a disappointed look. He did not want to leave her so soon.

* * *

The next morning Lucy walked to the guild alone, she sat on one of the bar bench, drank a strawberry milkshake for breakfast and begged to the heavens not to faint from hunger. She had to save money and unfortunately food was included. She walked over to the mission's board, determined to find a mission she could do by herself, knowing she could not afford to wait for Mystogan to return.

"Hey, Lucy, looking for a job?" A firm voice said behind her.

"Hey." She stared at the boy in the habit of undressing and she remembered that Natsu had said his name in the after day. "Gray, right ?! I need money. Do you want to go on a mission with me?"

He scratched the neck nervously. "I'm going on a mission with Loke, but we're going on a mission tomorrow when I get back." He blinked at her. "Wait for me."

She laughed at his miserable attempt to flirt with her. "Well, better than going alone. I'll wait for you, then."

"Oy, Ice prick." Natsu screamed, walking toward them.

"I don't have time for you, fire head." Gray replied without patience. "See you tomorrow, Lucy." He shouted over the shoulder before leaving the guild.

Lucy sat down on the bar bench again, willing to order something edible that was very cheap. Mira approached her with a sinister grin on face and spoke before she could ask for much needed food. "So Lucy... Mystogan, Natsu and now Gray, huh." Her smile widened impossibly.

Lucy frowned knowing exactly what she was implying something she did not want to know. "What does that mean?" She asked suspiciously and almost irritably.

"Leave her alone, Mira." A blue-haired girl sat next to her and Lucy was more than happy to be rescued before falling into that conversation. "I'm Levy." The little girl with a sweet smile reached out the hand Lucy took with a smile as well.

* * *

Lucy returned to the apartment, after a pleasant afternoon with Levy. She discovered that they both had a passion for books and other things in common and Lucy was happy to have a girlfriend, with the same interests, for the first time in her life.

She took off the boots, leaving it in the doorway, ready to lie down in bed for a good nap when she ran into two intruders. Natsu and Happy were spread comfortably on her sofa, eating her precious and meager food. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you get in? How did you find me? Why are you eating my food?"

"Hi Luigui-"

"Is Lucy!"

"-I followed your scent and we entered through the window. You have a good place." He gave her a beaming smile.

Lucy wanted to yell at them and curse them both, but after the silly and innocent smile he gave her, she found herself laughing at how crazy that situation was.

Natsu stared at her. "You're weird."

After the unusual interaction, Natsu tricked her into doing a mission with him and Happy and at some point he made her promise to be his partner.

"Hey, where's Mystogan?" Natsu asked as they walked out the door.

"He'll be back in a few days." She said sadly.

"She liiiiike him." Happy said teasingly.

"Shut up, cat." Lucy screamed, trying to ignore the heat on her cheeks. She refused to think too much about what Happy had said.

* * *

Two weeks had passed without a shadow of Mystogan and although Lucy had lived inumerous adventures with Natsu and other members of the guild, she missed him more than she wanted to admit. She stared at the setting sun through the bedroom window and sighed, a knock at the door knocked her out of the meditative state.  _'No one knock. This crazy team never asks for permission, they come in when they want.'_  She thought as she walked to the door.

"I'm back." Mystogan said as soon as Lucy opened the door, remembering the request she made at the hotel in Hargeon, he pulled the cloth from the mouth and smiled at her.

"Welcome home." She took his hand and pulled him into the apartment, closing the door. She wrapped the arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. "I missed you so much." She whispered in his ear as she hugged him even harder.

Mystogan was surprised by the show of affection, but he recovered easily, holding her, stroking the golden hair. "I missed you too."

* * *


	4. Key, padlocks and curtains

Mystogan came out of the bathroom wearing the white shirt that was still too tight for his taste and a pair of black sweatpants. Drying the hair with a towel, he walked to the kitchen where he heard a noise, concluding that it was where Lucy would be. He went into the kitchen and saw Lucy standing in the sink. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked, intrigued.

Lucy screamed as she was surprised by the hoarse voice echoing behind her, placing a hand on the chest to calm the beats. "Please don't do this again." She scolded him as she came down from the sink. "I'm putting padlocks on all the windows." She pointed to the windows in the apartment, indicating the silver padlocks.

Mystogan looked at the directions where she had pointed and concluded that she had actually closed all exits. "Are you a crazy stalker who wants to keep me in captivity?" He said, trying to look serious and failing miserably.

Lucy laughed so hard she lost the breath. "No, why would I do that?" She managed to stop laughing and walked to the table. "Sit down, I made dinner." She pointed to the table, and he sat in a chair while she served him the food.

She sat in the chair in front of him. "I'm on a team at Fairy Tail." She said between the bites. "They have an annoying tendency to come in without permission, so while you were in the bath, I asked Virgo to give me magic padlocks, so they'll not be able to open the windows even using magic. We don't want anyone to see your face, right? " She said with a wink.

He stopped the fork in the middle of the path and looked at her, absorbing every information she had said. "First, your food is delicious. Second, who's on this team and who's Virgo? And third, thank you for caring." He said the last part so sincerely that it made her lose focus for a few seconds.

Lucy rested the chin in a hand and stared at him, taking advantage of the little time she had with him exposing his face, before covering with the mask.  _'So cute.'_  She sighed and shook the head slightly to get rid of unnecessary thoughts. "Natsu convinced me to go on a mission with him and we became partners sometime, because as part of my magic and contract with the spirits, I can't break my promises. We went on a mission with Erza and Gray. Indeed, Mira made me go with them and we became a team in the end. Now Natsu, Happy, Erza, Gray, and I are the team Natsu, then-"

"Wait." He lifted one hand, interrupting her. "Are you and Natsu partners?"

"Yes?" She answered uncertainly.

"Erza is on a team with you, him and Gray?" He asked.

"And Happy." She added.

"Why is Natsu your partner?" He asked in an almost exasperated tone.

Lucy blinked a few times trying to figure out why he was annoyed that she was Natsu's partner. "Why does this bother you?"

Mystogan paused for a moment and pondered this question. "I have no idea, but it bothers me somehow." He sighed and looked at her looking even more exasperated than before for not understanding the reason for his own irritation.

Lucy shuddered under his glare. "Myst, you're my first friend and practically my roommate. There's nothing to worry about Natsu or anyone, okay?" She said in a calm tone and put her hand over his on the table, hoping that the gesture and words would be enough to calm whatever was inside him.

"Okay." He said as he looked at his hands clasped on the table.

She bit the lower lip and released his hand as if it had burned hers. "This is yours." She placed a small key on the table in front of him.

He felt the eyes widen at the sight of the object before him. "Is this for your apartment?" He asked even knowing the answer.

"If you accept, it will be our apartment." She said with a little shyness.

He smiled unconsciously. "I've never had a home since I left Edolas."

"I imagined that." She smiled back and thought as she never called home the mansion where she lived, after her mother died. She wanted a home this time and knew that Mystogan deserved it too.

He stroked the small key chain that had the shape of a staff, realizing that it was a replica of one of the staffs he wore, but this one had small stars drawn. He looked up and met her eyes, at that moment the only thing he could think of was how happy he was to go on the island Tenrou that day. "Thank you, Lucy." He said in a low voice. "I'll help you with the expenses." He added a little later.

She picked up the dishes from the table and saw that he had finished eating. "That would be fantastic, because I'm on Fiore's most destructive team, more than half of the money we make is to cover the cost of the destruction they leave behind." She whimpered.

Mystogan helped her carry the dishes to the sink. "It's not hard to imagine. Put Natsu and Gray in a room and add Erza to the mix, the obvious result is destruction."

"I really wanted someone to tell me about it. They're amazing and I'm growing to love them, but I need money to survive." She looked at him as she washed the dishes. "But don't think that's why I invited you."

He looked back at her. "Why did you invite me, Lu?"

"I..." She cleared the throat, trying to avoid nervousness. "I told you that loneliness is not a good friend." She sighed. "I don't want to be alone anymore and I don't want you to be alone as well."

He looked at her as if he had seen her for the first time. _'She cares.'_  At that moment he felt an almost uncontrollable urge to touch her, but all he did was put a loose strand behind her ear. "Thank you, Lucy."

* * *

They were sitting on the sofa talking about his trip, Lucy felt a tug at her magic and then a bright light invaded the room, revealing a woman with pink hair and maid clothes. Mystogan screamed and fell off the sofa with a loud thud.

Lucy laughed uncontrollably, while Virgo kept the same stoical face as ever. "You should have seen your face." She screamed through the laughter.

"It was not funny." Mystogan snapped back, irritated, sitting back on the sofa trying to regain his dignity.

"You can't say that. It was hilarious." She replied, wiping the tears from the eyes as she caught the breath. Turning her attention to the sneaky intruder, she asked. "What is it, Virgo?"

"Princess, these are the curtains and the movies you asked me to." Virgo declared almost mechanically as he placed the objects on the coffee table next to the sofa. "Punishment?" She asked without expression, but Lucy did not lose the glimmer of hope that appeared in her eyes.

"No punishment, Virgo. Thank you for that." She replied pointing at the objects on the table.

Virgo looked at Mystogan. "Are you going to punish me for scaring you, handsome man?"

Mystogan looked at the maid-clad woman he'd learned, was Virgo, Lucy's new spirit. "I'll not punish you." He responded trying to control the heat that rose on his cheeks.

Lucy noticed the pink tone that had taken hold of his cheeks and tried to contain the laughter that wanted to out again. She dismissed the mischievous spirit, deciding that the poor boy had suffered enough. "You just met Virgo." She rose from the sofa and tossed the curtains into his lap. "Now you put the curtains on the windows while I make popcorn and we can watch the movies she brought."

"You already have curtains." He pointed to the windows, but got up to change the curtains anyway.

"These are magical, they prevent anybody from seeing through them, even against the light." Lucy explained as she lit the fire to make the popcorn. "Believe me, it will be helpful when flying cats are around trying to break into our home."

Mystogan continued the task of removing the old curtains and tried to ignore the heat he felt in the chest when she said  _our home_.

* * *

When Mystogan finished with the curtains, the popcorn was ready and Lucy pulled him to the sofa. "Thanks for the help, you can choose the movie." She said with a smile as she handed the box to him.

"I don't know, you can choose." He placed the box on her lap.

Lucy looked at him and realized that maybe he did not even know what were those DVDs in the box. "You've never watched a movie, do you?"

He looked away from her. "It's not like I have the chance." He said in a low voice.

"Why?" She asked, wanting to learn more about him.

Mystogan leaned back on the sofa and closed the eyes. "The time I lived in the castle in Edolas was not fun, all I did was study with the servants to become the new king, as heir to the throne I had obligations. My father was a obsessed with magic and I ended up reading a lot about it in the books I find in the library. I ran away when I was seven, maybe more, determined to stop the Animas that my father sent to other worlds through the machine he built. I always knew that what he did was wrong, stealing magic from other places at the cost of innocent people's lives. My father tried to stop me, I was wounded but someone from Edolas helped me to escape and I ended up on Earth. " He opened the eyes and looked at her. "I've never had a home since I got here. Until you give it to me."

Lucy pulled him into a tight hug, stroking his hair as she whispered in his ear. "I promise we'll do whatever you want from now on. This is our home." She released him and looked between him and the box that was forgotten on the sofa. "Now choose the movie."

* * *

"Hey, this guy has a tattoo like yours." Lucy said, pointing to the TV Lacrima.

"This is not a tattoo, Lucy. It's a birthmark." He retorted.

"Whatever." She grumbled. "Sieghart." She pointed to the TV Lacrima, sighing. "He's so cute."

Lucy choked on the popcorn when she was hit by a flying pillow. "Hey, what was this?" She asked indignantly.

"Sorry, it slipped." He smiled innocently, pointing to the screen."This girl, Elie, she's cute."

Mystogan coughed, trying to get the grain of popcorn that lodged in his throat when he was hit by the flying pillow. "Slipped." Lucy smiled innocently, ignoring the angry look on his face.

When the movie finished, Lucy turned off the TV Lacrima, turned on the lights and sat facing him on the sofa. "How was your first movie?" She asked with an enthusiastic smile.

He returned her smile. "I enjoyed that." He said sincerely.

Lucy tapped the chin, thinking about what they could do to distract them until bedtime. "Let's play a game to get to know each other better?"

"What game?" Mystogan asked.

"Truth or dare." Lucy suggested and realized that from the confused look on his face, he had never heard of it. She decided to clarify. "If you choose 'truth', you'll have to answer a question with the truth regardless of what. If you say 'dare' you'll have to do what I tell you to do." She smiled wickedly.

"This works for both of us?" He asked returning the cheeky smile.

When Lucy nodded, he pointed to her with a gentle gesture. "Ladies first."

"A true prince." Lucy said with a small smile. "Prince Jellal." She whispered unconsciously without realizing that he was looking at her lips at that moment.

"Say again." He said in a hoarse voice before he could think.

"Prince Jellal?" She repeated uncertain.

He looked at her with an intensity that made her shudder. "Not bad when you say that."

Lucy waited with all her strength for him not to notice the shade of pink that was adorning her cheeks, if the heat she was feeling at that moment was some indication. She cleared the throat trying to regain her composure. "Truth or dare?" She asked, willing to start the game and hopefully return to her normal color.

"Truth." He replied firmly.

"How old are you?" She asked the first question that came to mind and despite being a silly question, she was really curious.

"Is it the best you can do?" He said with a crooked smile, ready to irritate her. "Twenty three."

"I'm just warming up." She responded indifferently, ignoring his teasing. "And you're old." She added knowing he would be irritated.

"I'm only five years older than you." He furrowed his brows and wondered if she really think he was old for her.

"Truth." Lucy offered, choosing not to say that his age did not matter to her.

Mystogan thought seriously for some seconds."Do you like Natsu?" He did not know if he really wanted to know the answer to that question, but the fact that she became Natsu's partner made him feel something strange that he had never felt before and it bothered him more than he'd like to admit.

Lucy blinked at that question. "I like Natsu." She watched as he widened the eyes and raised her hands, shaking them frantically. "Like a friend." She screamed almost desperately. "I don't feel anything romantic about him." She said it firmly, hoping this was the answer he wanted to hear, because that was the truth. "Why are you obsessed with this?" She asked immediately.

"I'm not." He yelled sharply, defensively. "Truth." He said in a calmer voice, trying to regain the dignity he thought he had lost minutes ago.

Lucy bit the lip nervously. "What did Earth Jellal do, that you're condemned to hide so as not to be confused with him?"

"That is a good question, but it's not my story to tell, Lu." He said reluctantly.

She blinked once, twice and smiled willingly to get revenge for his denial of the answer she wanted so badly to know. "Great, I dare you to eat Erza's cake tomorrow in the guild."

"Do you want me dead?" He screamed in despair.

"Chicken!" She screamed back. "I think this game was a bad idea. "She pulled the tie that was keeping the hair in a ponytail and ran her fingers through the loose strands.

"Bad idea." He nodded in agreement. "And I'm not a chicken, I just don't have a death wish." He crossed the arms and raised the nose in a childlike manner.

"You're cute when you act like this." Lucy said with a laugh as she got up and walked toward the closet, picking pillows and blankets. "We need to get another bed soon. You can not sleep on the couch forever." She said seriously.

Mystogan walked over to her, taking things out of her hand, prepping the sofa himself. "I don't think is going to fit another bed here, Lu."

"We'll have to think of another solution since you're getting permanently." She said sitting next to him.

"Lucy, instead of this silly game, you can ask what you want to know about me and I'll answer what I can." He said softly, making her smile.

"Right." She agreed. "Who in the guild, Earth Jellal hurt?" She insisted. Lucy did not want to be nosy but she was really worried about him having to hide for mistakes he had not made.

"Who's obsessed now?" He tapped her nose with the finger. "All right." He sighed. "I discovered some things about Jellal or Siegran, whatever the name he is currently using. The person in Fairy Tail that he hurt, is Erza." He knew he could trust her, so he decided to tell her what she wanted to know.

"Erza?" Lucy repeated and he saw the glow of concern in her eyes.

"Leave it alone, Lu." He insisted.

"Right." She said weakly. She saw from his expression that this was more delicate than she thought. Deciding to change the subject, she asked the question she knew would embarrass him. "How many girlfriends have you had?"

Mystogan blushed like she hoped. "I never dated." He replied quickly. "I only had one-night stands." He added and regretted the moment he heard the words he had said.

"How do you kiss with your mouth covered?" She asked right away before he could recover from the shock of the previous statement.

"I don't." He felt as if he were responding to a Council inquiry.

"You never kissed?" She asked in genuine surprise.

He looked away from her. "I never." He said weakly.

"How you did, er ... things ... one-night things, without kissing." She asked shyly, knowing that that question was intrusive but she wanted to know the answer.

He sighed, cursing himself for letting her ask what she wanted. "I had my way, without taking off the mask. This women I met in bars only approached me because they wanted a night with a famous magician, and I wanted-"

Lucy covered his mouth, preventing him from finishing the sentence, knowing exactly what would come next. " I understood." She screamed and took the hand from his mouth slowly. "You wanted something, so did they. But why didn't you ever take off the mask for... hm... things?"

Mystogan stared at her. "If anyone sees my face and confuses me with Earth Jellal, they can lead me to Council like an impostor. Lucy, so far only the Magic Council knows what Jellal has done wrong and he is using another identity to deceive the Council now."

Lucy gasped. "If you know all this, why you don't tell anyone?" She stared at him in amazement. "And how do you know all this?"

Mystogan ran a hand through his hair. "I've always kept an eye on my counterpart since I arrived on Earth and learned of his existence." She sighed. "I can't get involved with Council matters."

"If they catch you, will you have to answer where you come from and Edolas may be in danger?" She thought all the anonymity on his part made sense now. She understood why he chose to live in the shadows and more than ever would fulfill the promise to help him.

He nodded and she remembered how easily he had revealed his identity to her. "You took out the mask for me on the island."

Mystogan remembered how he trusted her so easily and seeing where they were now he did not regret it. "I honestly don't know why Lucy, but I don't regret it." He was pleased when she smiled genuinely after that statement. Before she could ask more embarrassing questions he pretended to yawn. "Let's go to sleep. We can take a mission tomorrow, what do you think?"

"Good idea." She answered as she switched off the lights and walked to the bed. "Good evening, Prince Jellal." She said in a sweet voice.

Jellal nearly moaned at the sound of his name being said for her mouth, that way in a dark room. "Good night." He managed to respond while he thought that girl would be his death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sieghart and Elie are characters from another Hiro Mashima's anime.


	5. Fox and Phantom

Mystogan woke up the next morning with the delicious scent of bacon. He sat down on the comfortable sofa, grateful for the first decent night's sleep in days, after a restless journey through Anima that had formed on the other side of Fiore. "Good morning, Your Highness. The royal breakfast is ready." Lucy's voice echoed in the living room, making him glance toward the open kitchen.

He got up on the sofa lazily and walked to the small kitchen, sitting in a chair while Lucy laid a plate of eggs and bacon, another with pancakes and a glass of juice before him, with a smile on her face that made him wonder how he survived so much time without it, without _her_.

When she sat in the chair next to him, he shook the head to get rid of those insistent thoughts that he could not figure out what they meant and it was too soon to think about it too much anyway. "Tell me what you've done in the last two weeks." Lucy asked sweetly.

Mystogan smiled at her, grateful for a distraction. "The Anima was forming in a city a little far from here, near the country called Bosco. As Anima searches for concentrated magical energy, he formed above a black guild this time, so after reversing Anima I unfortunately had to fight against the members of the guild. They were not very friendly, by the way."

"You overthrew a black guild, alone?" Lucy asked impressed.

"They were about 30 mages. They were not very impressive." He answered nonchalantly as he ate. "Wow, Lucy, did I tell you I love your food?"

Lucy blushed with that compliment and she almost beat herself, looking like a fool whenever he praised her. "Thank you." She said weakly as she ate her own meal.

"Tell me what you've done in those two weeks?" He asked.

Lucy smiled remembering the adventures she'd had with her team. "My first official mission was to find a book and destroy it, but when Natsu and I found the book, I discovered that it was actually a message from the deceased father to our employer. I stopped Natsu from burning the book, he defeated the bad guys and I got the key to the Virgo's gate. " She summarized as best she could.

"I'm sorry for not being on your first mission." He said, disappointed.

"I wish you were there." She said sincerely. "A few days later we faced a black guild with macabre plans and we destroyed a demon from Zeref, called Lullaby, actually Erza, Gray and Natsu destroyed that thing." She said the last part in a self-deprecating tone.

"I'm sure you did very well on your missions, Lu." He had never seen her in action before, but he believed she was a capable mage and even though he had not said it, he thought her magic was impressive.

"I could have done more." She said with a distant, thoughtful face. "Anyway, we didn't get reward for this mission, either." She laughed without emotion. "Soon after, Natsu made Happy invade the second floor of the guild and steal an S-class mission, the idiot dragged me with him."

Mystogan dropped the fork, making a loud noise as it fell on the plate. "He what?" He said with obvious disbelief and irritation.

"Don't worry." She tried to soothe him. "Erza reached us anyway, and Gray was there for us too. It all worked out in the end." She added quickly.

"What if something bad happened?" Mystogan asked in a tone of concern. "You could have hurt yourself, Lucy, or worse..." He sighed. "If you want an S-class mission, I'll take you in. Promise me you're not going on dangerous missions without me, never again." He said looking at her with a serious face, but before she could respond he added. "Promise me you'll not allow Natsu to drag you on such dangerous missions."

Lucy felt almost breathless with the intensity of his gaze, she had someone caring for her that way and that gesture made her feel wanted for the first time in the life. She knew her mother cared and took care of her, but she was too young to remember. "I promise." She decided to accept that care.

* * *

They entered the guild, following the path to the bar. Lucy sat on the seat she'd always wore since arriving in Fairy Tail and gasped as Mystogan tucked a lock of hair behind the ear and brought the mouth to her ear. "Get drinks for us while I pick a mission on the second floor." She tried not to shudder as he spoke in a hoarse voice too close and nodded in confirmation.

As she watched Mystogan climb the stairs and disappear upstairs, Cana sat on the bench beside her left as Levy sat on the bench on the right side. Lucy narrowed the eyes at seeing Mira approaching at the same time as the other girls and staying in the in front of her. For some unknown reason she felt trapped when the girls rested their elbows on the bar counter and looked at her expectantly.

"Hm, Mira." She said uncertainly. "Can you get me a strawberry and a chocolate milkshake, please?"

Mira ignored the request and looked at her with shining eyes. "How is he without the mask?"

Lucy's eyes widened and she understood the reason for the sudden approach, but before she could get the girls to get lost Levy pointed a finger at her almost accusingly. "Don't try to lie, we know you've seen his face, Lu."

Before Lucy could ask how the hell they knew Cana's voice moved closer to her ear. "Is he as sexy as he is mysterious?"

"Cana," Lucy screamed, completely embarrassed, and she refused to say that he was so much sexy than mysterious because she knew that statement would bring trouble.

"I'll get your drink." Mira said as she walked into the guild's kitchen. "Don't start anything without me." She screamed over the shoulder.

"There's nothing to start with." Lucy murmured with a pout.

"Stop it, Lulu." Cana nudged her with the elbow lightly. "You need to share these things with your friends."

"Did you know that he is the only famous Fairy Tail magician who has never had his face shown in magazines or newspapers ?!" Levy shared it as if it was important information. "Don't blame us for wanting to know. He's a member of our guild."

When Lucy opened the mouth to reply that she understood their curiosity but could not say anything, Mira returned with the drinks. "Wow, that was fast." Lucy praised and sighed. "Mystogan saved me on Tenrou Island, as I already told you, we became friends after that and I invited him to live with me." She took a sip of the strawberry milkshake. "And now we're going out on our first mission together, that sums all."

"Are you guys living together?" Levy asked in horror and swallowed as she saw a shadow behind her.

Mira laughed nervously as Levy and Cana turned their heads slowly to face Mystogan, who had a curious and amused look. Cana got up from the seat and pulled Levy with her while Mira disappeared into the kitchen again.

Mystogan sat next to Lucy and smiled knowing she was probably being bombarded with indiscreet questions. He took a sip of the strawberry milkshake, with a straw under the mask, and Lucy smacked his shoulder, claiming it was hers as she give the chocolate milkshake to him. Mystogan laughed "I know it's yours." He said in a playful tone, ignoring the mortal look she was giving him. He slid the mission paper over to her. "It looks simple but has become S-class because the monster has defeated all the mages who have tried to cut it off until now."

Lucy read the information from the mission and smiled mischievously. "It sounds simple and you'll finally get a chance to meet Aquarius."

Mystogan shivered visibly and stood up. "I'll find something else." He disappeared on the second floor again as Lucy laughed at him.

Lucy closed the eyes to enjoy the moment of peace as she drank the delicious strawberry milkshake. "So you two live together now?" Levy asked, making Lucy jump with the fright.

She looked at the three girls who were in the same position as before. "Don't look at me that way, I invited him to share the apartment because we're friends and that's it."

Mira tapped the chin as she thought deeply, "Natsu is your friend and partner, so he says so happily all the time to anyone who wants to hear. You did not invite him to live with you." Mira said slyly.

Lucy snorted. "As if Natsu needed an invitation to go anywhere." She retorted annoyed. "And why would I invite Natsu to live with me if he have his own house?"

"You mean that Mystogan, an S-class mage, doesn't have a house?" Cana asked in disbelief.

Lucy was saved from responding when Mystogan returned, causing her friends to disperse again. "Here." Mystogan handed the paper to her. "A monster, which locals claim to be a giant fox is tormenting a small village near here."

Lucy looked at the image of a giant two-tailed fox that was roughly drawn on the paper. "I don't know why, but this seems a little familiar to me."

Mystogan looked at her curiously. "If you remember anything relevant, tell me." He finished the drink. "We can walk to the village, do you want to do something on the way?"

Lucy brightened at the suggestion. "We can go to the bookstore. I need new books."

"Of course, because the thousand books you already have are not enough." Mystogan said with a laugh, laughing even more when she showed the tongue at him, childishly.

"Hey, Luce." Natsu screamed as he approached them. "Hey, Mystogan." Natsu smiled happily as Mystogan responded with a wave. Natsu put a arm around Lucy's shoulders. "Let's go on a mission?"

"Sorry, Natsu. Myst and I are going on a mission together." Lucy answered in an apologetic tone.

"What mission is that?" He asked excitedly.

"A mission that doesn't include our team." Lucy clarified, without guilt. "I really want the total reward this time, I need to pay the rent and have some things I want to buy." She said angrily as she remembered how little money she had from the last missions.

"We can guarantee your money, Lucy." Gray shouted, walking toward them.

"No, you can't." She said in with conviction. "You have destructive tendencies that do away with the rewards of the missions and my clothes. At this rate I'm going to walk naked and live under a bridge."

Natsu laughed at her statement. "If that happens I'll give you my clothes, Luce." He hugged her closer.

Mystogan felt the eyes narrow as he saw the familiar way Natsu held her and he felt something uncomfortable burn in his belly. "Sorry guys, we need to leave now." He said as he stood, pushing Lucy away from Natsu's arms. He held Lucy's hand tightly as he placed some coins on the counter, leaving the guild without looking back and still holding her hand.

The laughter of Cana broke the silence that had fallen on the guild after the demonstration of obvious jealousy of Mystogan.

"What is funny?" Natsu asked, confused.

"The way Lucy has the most mysterious Fairy Tail mage wrapped around her finger." Cana answered as she drank from the barrel of wine.

"What are you talking about? They're friends." Natsu said innocently.

"Natsu, you're so cute." Cana said with a laugh. "You don't have to think about it too much. Lulu seems to have the same effect on you both." She pointed at him and Gray.

"What does that mean, Cana?" Gray asked almost irritably.

"Nothing." She decided not to tease them anymore. "I was just thinking about how things changed after Lucy arrived in the guild." She set the barrel aside and said seriously this time. "Mystogan has never been seen here before coming with her. Natsu has never been in the guild for a long time, always running around, looking for Igneel. Gray never went on missions with anyone other than Loke and Erza was always on solo missions for long time. Now you walk together all the time and are always in the guild."

"Now that you mention it, Levy-chan has also become her best friend too fast." Mira said as she wiped the glasses.

"That's because Lu-chan is amazing as a person and as a writer." Levy said without taking the eyes off the book she was reading. "You always keep her in the bar, Mira." Levy replied late.

"Because she has interesting conversations and is easy to provoke." Mira said with a smile. "It's like she's a new light in Fairy Tail." She reflected.

"Light of Fairy Tail, this suits Lucy." Erza declared, and everyone agreed.

* * *

Lucy glanced at the man beside her and wished he was without the bandana and the mask over the mouth, so she could see his expressions as they walked the streets of Magnolia, visiting the bookstores and magical items stores. When he bought her an ice cream without her asking, Lucy tried not to think how much it all seemed like a date and how she wanted it to be.

They arrived in the small village before dusk and went directly to the mayor's office to receive the details of the mission. After finding out all they needed about the monster, the mayor's secretary took them to a small inn where they would wait for the night to fall after being informed that the monster only appeared at night.

"What do you think it is?" Mystogan asked as he looked at her that was admiring the sunset through the bedroom window.

"I'm sure I've seen that picture stamped on the mission request once, maybe I've seen it in some book." She answered thoughtfully.

Mystogan could not stop looking at her as the orange light from the setting sun went through the window and illuminated the room. He felt his heart beat a little faster as he admired the details that were exposed before him, thanks to the sunlight. He noticed the delicate freckles that covered the pale skin of her cheeks and nose, the way her large brown eyes glittered from the light hypnotized him. When he looked at her rosy lips that were half-open with admiration as she stared at the landscape of the Outside he thought he'd never wanted to kiss anyone before, but he would not mind doing it to her right now. "So beautiful." He heard her say in a low voice and he knew she was referring to the sunset but he could not see anything beyond her.

"Really beautiful." He nodded, breathless.

* * *

When the night fell, Lucy and Mystogan left the inn and entered the dense forest awaiting the appearance of the giant fox. Mystogan held a staff in the hand, and with the other, he held her hand firmly. "Don't move away from me." He said earnestly as he turned away from the tree branches, concentrating on the sounds around them.

A loud noise echoed through the forest making Lucy jump and squeeze his hand harder. She heard the rustling between the tall trees behind them and stared in astonishment as one of the fox's tails passed close to her face. "Myst." She whispered and pulled him to look in the direction the fox was.

Before the giant tail struck them, Mystogan dropped the staff and held Lucy in his arms, hopping out of range of the attack. "That was close." He murmured as they landed safely on the floor.

"Thanks." Lucy said weakly. She ran and retrieved his staff, returning it to the owner. Holding one of the keys in her hand she waited for the next attack to come.

Lucy summoned Cancer when the giant fox cast a shadow over her and Mystogan. When the fox approached, they could see his features, red pelage, yellow eyes and two giant tails that swayed in the air as if him was amusing with the situation. Lucy would find it fascinating if she was not so frightened at the moment. Mystogan ran toward the fox and shoved magic into the staff, Lucy watched admiringly as dark tentacles came out of the staff and held the fox's paws. She looked at Cancer, knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to stop the monster. "Cancer, cut off their tails before it hits us." She asked.

"I can't -ebi." He said seriously.

"Why the hell can not you?" She screamed indignant.

Mystogan was intrigued when he saw the spirit of Lucy whisper something in her ear, just before she made him disappear. "Lucy?" He said in astonishment as she walked toward the giant fox and he felt his heart race as he realized she was heading toward the monster, completely alone and defenseless against his tails. He wanted to drop his staff and run to stop her, but if he let go, the beast would be free to hurt her. "Lucy." He screamed almost desperately to see her too close of the fox.

"Lock the gate." Mystogan heard her scream and then a blinding light invaded the forest. When he opened the eyes, the fox was gone and Lucy ran to him with a silver key in the hands. "What is it?" He asked completely confused.

She laughed lightly and looked at him with a childish expression that made him completely forget the desperation he was feeling earlier. "It was Vulpecula." She said, showing the silver key to him. "The Fox spirit."

Mystogan blinked a few times trying to process that new information. "You mean it was a celestial spirit that was terrorizing this village, wreaking havoc on the plantations and scaring the villagers with scary noises all night?"

Lucy stroked the key with a sympathetic look. "Well, I read that Vulpecula is like a child and likes to play tricks." She said biting lower lip and Mystogan realized she was trying to justify the actions of the spirit. Before he could scold her as much as the playful spirit, Lucy reached out and held the key as if she were opening a door. "I'm bound to the path to the world of the Celestial Spirits. Now spirit, listen to my call and go through the gate."

Mystogan took a step back when Lucy was shrouded in light, before a loud bell rang and a boy who appeared to be no more than twelve years old appeared before her.

Lucy smiled and looked at the boy in front of her, he had a red hair, yellow eyes and a playful smile on face, wearing a white button shirt, black slacks and bare feet. "Sorry for the mess." He said shyly.

"Hey." She answered with a laugh. "I'm Lucy." She reached for him, who took a step back automatically, making Lucy remember that not all the celestial mages were kind. "I'll not hurt you." She assured him. "Just tell me why you did all these mischief."

He rubbed the neck nervously. "I was bored after a decade without being able to play." He looked at the floor. "When someone who possessed magic touched my key I was able to overwhelm enough to make an illusion."

"That giant fox was an illusion?" Mystogan asked and the boy nodded. "But what about the damage on the plantation?"

"That was not me." He shouted in self-defense.

Lucy knelt in front of him. "What do you tell me about coming with me?" She caught his chin and made him look at her. "I have other spirits with whom you can play in the Celestial world."

When he looked at her with hopeful eyes she smiled. "You have to promise to apologize to the mayor of this town and the people of the village, and if you accept I'll be your key holder."

"You mean master." He corrected her.

"I want to be your friend." She smiled caressing his hair. "What do you say Vulpecula?"

He gave her a smile that rivaled Natsu's. "Call me Vulpy." He took her hand and shook frantically.

"You're so cute." Lucy screamed and pulled him into a hug.

"Lucy." Mystogan called, trying not to laugh at her show of affection and the frightened face of the boy. "We need to go back, now."

"Right." She smiled and held Vulpy's hand, walking out of the forest with Mystogan right behind them.

He looked at the scene in front of him as she walked, smiling with the boy, asking all about some kind of contract and Mystogan thought she looked adorable and that one day she would be a good mother. When the realization of that thought struck him, he shook the head hard, thinking how much he was falling for that girl.

* * *

The next morning they returned home before the sun came up and Mystogan informed Lucy that there was an Anima forming and he would have to leave again. After rolling in the bed for a few hours, she gave up trying to sleep and left for the guild, willing to introduce Vulpy to Natsu, knowing that the two

would get along with each other.

When Lucy approached the guild she was paralyzed before the doors, completely shocked at the sight before her. "What the hell happened here?" She screamed at the sight of iron rods running through the building, leaving it completely destroyed.

"I don't know, Luce..." Natsu's hoarse voice called after her and she looked at him in surprise, realizing that he was there for the first time. "But when I lay my hands on the person who did this, he will be unrecognizable."

Lucy put a hand on his shoulder for comfort and realized that there were more people around them with the same expressions shocked to see the state in which the guild was. "Phantom Lord." Mira's voice echoed through the air, catching everyone's attention.


	6. Don't touch my fairy.

Lucy came home much earlier than she intended, trying not to be upset about the guild's state after a cowardly attack and tried not to think about the master's decision not to retaliate. After all, she just wanted to take a warm shower and get some sleep early, maybe even Mystogan would come back sooner, if it did not ask for too much.

Opening the door distractedly and taking off her boots, she did not expect the mini heart attack that was triggered by the sudden appearance of her team. "How did you get in here?" she screamed Indignant and completely surprised to see her team comfortably accommodated around the room.

"Your key is with me." Erza said matter-of-factly as she drank tea, making Lucy wonder, for the thousandth time, what was wrong with the people in Fairy Tail.

"I don't remember having left my key with you." Lucy said suspiciously, after thinking about what Erza had said.

"You didn't, but I caught it anyway." Erza answered even more nonchalantly. "We're staying with you tonight." She used a tone Lucy knew that there would be no discussion.

Lucy took the key out of her hands, quickly. "Erza, please don't steal it again. Mystogan lives here too. You don't want to come in and see him in a towel when I'm not here, do you?" Lucy raised the eyebrows, emphasizing that she was waiting for an answer. She did not want the risk of letting anyone see Mystogan's face and consequently break the promise she made to him.

Erza felt her eyes widen at Lucy's statement. She blushed unconsciously at the thought of seeing the body of a man she had not even seen the face. "It was not my intention. You have my word that it will not happen again."

Gray felt the lips twitch in a smile as he realized that Lucy was smarter than she looked. "Mira told us to stay here because it's not safe to be alone if Phantom Lord attacks." He said trying to calm the irritated blonde, knowing that she cared what Mira said.

Lucy looked at Gray and sighed in defeat. "Well." She walked to the bathroom, hoping that at least the shower would be as she had expected.

* * *

The next morning, Lucy served breakfast for everyone, ignoring the eccentricities of her guild mates as best she could. She dragged everyone toward the guild, even though they protested, saying that her apartment was comfortable enough for them to spend the day.

"What is happening?" Erza pointed toward the park where there was a small crowd gathered.

"Let's go." Natsu screamed enthusiastically and ran toward the commotion, ignoring the screams of Lucy and Gray.

Lucy slammed the back of the pink-haired dragonslayer as he abruptly stopped. She gasped as she looked over his shoulder and saw Levy hanging from a tree, caught by hooks and metal chains. She took a few steps unconsciously, pulling people in her way and felt the eyes burning with unshed tears as she saw all the bruises that adorned her friend's skin. She looked at Jet and Droy who were in the same state as Levy, hanging from the trees next to her. "Who could do such a horrible thing?" She murmured, annoyed and horrified.

"Phantom Lord." Natsu growled angrily, between clenched teeth.

Lucy felt an arm push her gently and glanced to the side facing Master Makarov who had a livid look on his face and usually calm.

She felt tears stream freely across the face as she heard Master declare war on the guild that had injured his children.

* * *

Lucy went to the guild after spending all day in the hospital with Levy, only to find out through Mira that all the other guild members had gone out to Phantom Lord to fight them. She thought of going after them but did not know where the guild was and thought that if she went there and there was no one from Fairy Tail in the place, she would be in trouble. After deciding to go home and wait for news she went into a small store to refill the pantry that had been emptied by her team that morning.

She left the store with a few bags full in her hands, sighing and wishing that Cana had been able to contact Mystogan through the location card all members of Fairy Tail possessed. She hoped Mira had managed to persuade Laxus to help too, so all this baseless war would end with fewer injuries.

Feeling a drop fall on her forehead, she looked up, surprised to feel the rain falling slowly, when a few minutes earlier there was not a single cloud in the sky. "Summer rain?" She whispered to herself.

She gasped when she heard some murmurs behind her, and felt stupid for being caught in susprise, cursing herself for not paying attention to the surroundings, like Mystogan told her to do when he was not around. She watched as a woman with blue hair and a hat passed her in the alley.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked, trying to maintain a calm posture, but inside she was frightened at the thought of being attacked by someone from the rival guild who had injured Levy and the others, seemingly for no reason.

"Juvia is the rain woman." Lucy heard the woman with beautiful blue hair say in a monotonous and almost sad voice. "Nice to meet you." Juvia stated, passing for Lucy without looking at her directly, whispering something that Lucy thought was the sound of dripping water.

She sighed in relief when the woman walked away from her and decided not to think too much about how strange that woman was or how much she liked blue if the color of her clothes, hair and umbrella were any indication.

Lucy continued walking down the street, hurrying, ready to escape the rain and that woman, when suddenly a strange man with green hair and a monocle over a eye emerged from the floor, startling her, making her take a few steps back. "Juvia, you made a mistake, mademoiselle. This girl is our target." She heard the man declare and felt the blood freeze to think that they were really of that cruel guild.

"You are who attacked my friends." She said between clenched teeth and put the hand on the keys, feeling anger flooding every part of her body, but before she could summon one of her spirits a bubble of water surrounded her body, preventing her from breathing. She feared that this was the last time she would see the light of day and unfortunately she could not say goodbye to Mystogan. Before falling into the unconsciousness she thought that drowning was worse than she imagined.

* * *

A dripping noise woke her back to the living world and she blinked a little dazed, sitting abruptly, rubbing the eyes as her foggy mind recovered from the chaos after the nightmare of being drowned. The cold stone covered with green moss reminded her that there was no nightmare. The strange woman, dressed in blue, the man capable of getting off the ground, the bubble of water she thought would be her coffin, were real.

The rustling creak of rusted metal made her look toward a door she had not even noticed was there. "Who are you?" She asked the shadow that crossed the door, hoping that her voice had not sounded as terrified as she felt.

"Jose." The voice echoed through the dungeon, sending shivers down her spine. "I'm the master of the Phantom Lord guild." She caught a glimpse of a sinister grin as he stepped closer.

"What do you want with our guild?" She asked, letting the irritation and anger take over her, deciding that anything would be better than the fear at that moment.

"I don't want anything with them." He answered with a laugh, taking a few steps closer to her. "Fairy Tail was just on my way."

Lucy narrowed the eyes and pulled away from him. "What does that mean?" She retorted, trying to buy time with a fool conversation, while her mind worked on some plan to get her out of that place, preferably alive.

"It means, I wanted someone who is coincidentally in Fairy Tail. Attacking the guild was just a collateral damage." He declared nonchalantly as if she was not a threat to him and she felt completely useless with that discovery.

"Who do you want?" She asked as she stood and looked around for something to loosen the rope that bound her hands behind her back.

"I thought the heiress of the Kozern Heartfilia family was a smart girl." He sneered.

Lucy felt her body freeze at that statement. She realized that all this time, all the attacks against the guild and her friends, was because of her. Levy was in the hospital because of her and she knew exactly who the only person behind it was.

She closed the eyes tightly to get rid of the state of torpor in which she had fallen and focused on the horrible man before her, and how she would get rid of him. "You mean that-"

"Your father hired our services, miss." He confirmed what she feared most.

She had disappeared for over a year and he did not even bother to look for her. She knew there was some completely selfish motive behind this sudden interest in wanting she back that house. Anger and resentment flooded her like an unpleasant tsuname, but she tried to ignore those bitter feelings as best she could. "You can't keep me here." She stated between clenched teeth.

"Oh, really? But I will." He replied arrogantly.

"I- I need to pee." She begged shamelessly, begging the stars for this trick to work.

The man surprised her when he took a bucket from some place she did not pay attention to, and placed the offending object in front of her. "This is the oldest trick of all." He sneered with a sly smile, and Lucy realized that his smiles were starting to irritate her.

She walked toward the bucket and without using the hands that was stuck behind her back, she did the best to position the body above the rusty bucket.

She watched as the man turned his back to her instantly, with astonishment evident in his features. She felt a smile take over her lips even under those circumstances. "You're not a very elegant lady." She heard him scream with indignation.

In a thousandth of a second, Lucy kicked the man between the legs without hesitation. "Don't underestimate the old tricks." She screamed at him, containing the urge to laugh as he fell to the floor, in pain. She ran toward the only opening that had in the dungeon, with the exception of the door. She swallowed at the sight before her, and closed the eyes tightly, keeping the tears at bay, seeing the height in which she was, that would surely lead to certain death. She knew it was risky, but she would try to escape, refusing to return to the clutches of her father who did not care for her.

"You have nowhere to go, Princess. You'll have to go back to your castle." The Jose's voice made her turn abruptly and stare at him with determination.

His words burned inside her, more than the fire of Natsu's magic, reminding her of the oppression, abuse, and loneliness she suffered in that grim castle for which she refused to return. "I'll not come back." She murmured more to herself than to the man in front of her and without much thought, she jumped.

The air invaded her lungs and she screamed the name of the only one who could save her at that moment, with all the breath she still had.

"Luce." Natsu's desperate voice echoed in her ears, fighting the biting wind. When she landed on something hard and staggered across the sandy floor, a sigh of relief escaped of her mouth. "You're crazy, you know that?" Natsu's muffled voice brought her back to reality, he was not about to let her go so soon, if the mortal grip around her was any indication.

"I heard your voice." She reassured him. "I knew you'd catch me."

* * *

Mystogan was on the way home when he received a call from Fairy Tail, through a card from Cana, which he did not even remember having. Approaching the city, he heard rumors of attacks on Fairy Tail.

Mystogan took a shortcut through the forests of Magnolia, wishing to reach the guild as quickly as possible and was not surprised to be attacked by several magicians during the route. He faced two enemy bases and during the fight he wondered what Fairy Tail had done to arouse such fury, this time.

He defeated the wizards easily and thought that if the rest of the members of that guild were similar to the ones he dropped so easily, the other members of Fairy Tail were not in difficult as he initially thought.

Extracting information from one of the enemy guild members, he discovered that Master Makarov had his energy drained, without a second thought, he crossed the forest to the house where he knew the Master would be, sending a little wave of magic through his staff, he hoped it was enough to restore the man's health to which he owed so much.

Using his magic, he went straight to the guild, wishing with all the strength that Lucy was safe.

When he reached the front of the guild, he almost gasped at the ruined state in which the building was. He ran as fast as he could to the back of the guild where he felt a powerful magical energy, and this time he gasped at the sight of all the Fairy Tail's mages fighting against what appeared to be shadows.

He took the arm of the first person who crossed his path. "What's going on here?"

Cana tried to catch her breath to answer his question, and she restrained the desire to smile at the knowledge that at least one reinforcement had arrived on time. "Phantom Lord attacked... They injured Levy, Jet and Droy, and soon after they kidnapped Lucy and-"

"Where's Lucy?" He asked in a tone that made Cana shudder visibly.

She pulled the arm out of the painful grip he was holding. "She's fine. Natsu rescued her and Mira sent her to safety place." Cana tried to reassure him.

"Where?" He repeated.

"The guild deposit in the city center." She responded quickly, seeing how much he was distressed and angry.

She saw him disappear shortly after hitting one of the staff on the floor, and she moaned to realize that their reinforcement had left

* * *

Mystogan saw Reedus lying unconscious on the floor and walked toward the glass cube that was in the middle of the deposit, breaking the large glass cube, wishing Lucy was safe inside that thing.

"I'm sorry." Listening to Loke's voice, made his jaw tighten unconsciously. "I could not protect her."

He ran the hand through the hair, not caring if the bandana had left the place, revealing his blue hair. "Did you see where they took her?"

"I'm sure they took her to their guild." Loke looked up, staring at the man in front of him who looked more frustrated with each passing second. "Their guild is in the back of Fairy Tail right now, fighting against-"

Mystogan disappeared before Loke finished the senseless babbling.

Arriving once more on the battlefield that the Fairy Tail yard had been transformed, he raced through his guild mates, sending bundles of light with his staff, disintegrating all the shadows that dared to cross the path. Without hesitation, he jumped into the walking castle before him, knocking down wall to wall, until he could feel the slightest sense of Lucy's vital energy, which he had become so familiar with in the past few months.

He heard sounds of iron pounding frantically against something and following his extinguished ones, he walked in that direction. Tipping down another wall that stood in his way, he saw Lucy being brutally hit by a lunatic with long hair and red eyes.

Mystogan felt raw rage flooding every inch of his body. "Take your hands off her, NOW!." He screamed, feeling his feet moving toward her, unconsciously.

"Myst." He heard her whisper and when her smile reached him, he hit her attacker with his magic, not caring what damage it would cause, he fell to his knees before her, soon after. "What did he do to you?"

"I'm fine, I swear." She responded with a smile and he knew she was trying to look strong for him.

He took her in his arms, placing her seated in the corner of the room, where he considered it a safe place. "Stay here." He asked. "Don't move, I'll take care of you as soon as I'm done with it."

The moment he moved far enough away from where Lucy was, the man with long hair and an iron-clad fist jumped toward him. "I haven't finished having fun with your girlfriend." The mocking voice echoed through the dark room.

Mystogan felt a growl come out of his mouth, before he could stop it, pointing the staff toward the man, he conjured a spell and held his opponent with a tentacle. He realized for the first time that there were other wizards in the room, and when he thought that they watched Lucy being massacred by that man without even helping her, it irritated him even more. With a simple movement of his hands, the mages of the enemy guild fell to the ground, completely asleep.

Then he looked at the man who was floundering, trying in vain, to let go of the deadly grip that the tentacle had on him. "Don't think you will have the same fate." He growled as he walked toward him.

After that statement five bright rings rise above the arrested man and a beam of light illuminated the dark room as a wave of magic fell on the man, knocking him to his knees. Mystogan let the tentacle loose and took a few steps even closer to the injured opponent.

"Myst, that's enough." Lucy's frightened voice echoed around the room.

Mystogan looked at her with an obviously confused expression. "He hurt you, Lucy." He stated without understanding why she wanted to spare that man, when all he wanted was to destroy him for what he had done with her. "I haven't finished with him." He turned his back to her and kept walking.

"Do you think you can easily knock me over, lover boy?" The gasping voice made Mystogan narrow the eyes and dodge the blows. He noticed how the man was staggering and smiled with satisfaction beneath the mask.

Another tentacle emerged from the floor as Mystogan conjured the magic quickly and sneakily, grabbing the opponent's hands. Mystogan raced toward him, kicking his face, making the man's body fly and crash into a wall.

Before he could reach the fallen man to finish the fight the ground trembled, a crater opened revealing a fire Fenix, causing Mystogan to run toward Lucy to protect her from whatever new threat.

"Salamander." The fallen man groaned.

"Gajeel." Natsu's enraged shout made Mystogan sigh with relief. Natsu extinguished the flame and looked around, surprised to see Lucy and Mystogan in that place. "Mystogan, you stole my fight." He said with a childish pout after a few seconds of silence.

"Natsu." Lucy screamed in annoyance as she stood with some difficulty. "Don't be an idiot."

"Can you still walk?" Gajeel sneered as he got to his feet, too. "I wasn't hard enough with you, rich girl."

Mystogan clenched his jaw so hard it hurt. Without thinking he ran toward the man, delivering punches that the opponent defended, using metal to strengthen the body.

"Enough." Lucy screamed in an angry tone, causing Mystogan to stop the attacks immediately.

The three men looked at her wide-eyed as she walked toward them. She stood between Mystogan and Gajeel, facing Mystogan with obvious weariness on her features.

"He's not worth it, Myst." She leaned against his chest. "I just want to go home."

Gajeel growled at her. "Who do you think you are, fairy?" Reaching out a hand, he tried to grab her hair again, but was stopped by the hand of Mystogan.

"Put a finger on my fairy again, and it will be the last thing you will do." He declared and took Lucy in his arms. "Finish with it, Natsu." With that last word, he disappeared whit her.

* * *

Appearing in the apartment they shared, he carefully placed her on the bed. Without a single word, he took off her boots, unbuttoned her waistcoat, leaving her only in a bra. He walked into the bathroom and came back with a first aid kit. kneeling before her, he took care of the wounds.

She put her hand on his. "Thank you from saving me." She said in a slightly hoarse voice when he finished.

Taking off the bandana and the cloth covering his mouth, he stared at her. "I didn't do anything, Lucy." He answered in a completely defeated tone. "I didn't save you." He pointed to the wounds that covered her clear skin. "I was late and you-"

Lucy placed both hands on his face. "You saved me, Myst. I don't know what that man would do to me if you had not showed up." She stroked his cheek with the thumb. "You brought me home. I'm safe here with you."

He surprised her as he wrapped the arms around her waist and laid his head on her exposed thighs. "I'm so sorry." She heard him whisper.

Lucy could not resist the temptation to run her fingers through his hair, caressing carefully, wishing that gesture made him feel better. After long minutes in that position she nudged him gently. "I need a shower. When I leave, you can bandage me."

He nodded and removed the arms that were around her waist, lying on the bed when she disappeared in the bathroom.

Lucy left the bathroom after a long time, wearing shorts and a blouse that did not cover her belly. Mystogan sat abruptly and snarled audibly at the sight of the state she was, with bruises everywhere. "I should have finished with him." He said between clenched teeth.

She shook the head, not wanting him to get his hands dirty because of her. He sighed and pointed to the bed. "Lay down. I'll bandage you."

He spread ointment through her body, an ointment that himself made with leaves he encountered on his travels. When he bandaged her torso, she groaned in pain. "I think you have some broken ribs." He said with an apologetic tone and gave her some pain pills. Covering her with the duvet, he waited for her to fall asleep before going to the couch.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Mystogan woke up with a shrill cry echoing through the dark apartment. He jumped off the couch and ran toward her.

He made sure Lucy was still sleeping deeply, but she struggled in the mattress, moaned and murmured meaningless words.

Calling her name frantically, he sighed in relief as she opened the eyes and looked directly at him. "Myst?" His name came out in a weak whisper.

"You had a nightmare." He covered her again with the duvet. "Go back to sleep." He kissed her forehead and turned to return to the couch, but was stopped by a hand on his wrist.

"Stay with me." She asked sweetly. "If you're here, the red eyes can't catch me."

Without hesitation he lay down beside her, wrapping the arms around her, blaming the fog of sleep and weariness. Telling himself it was this excuse he'd use for himself and her the next morning. "No one will hurt you, ever again." He whispered in her ear, pleased as she relaxed and leaned closer to him.


	7. Fallen Stars

                                                                       

Lucy woke up the next morning with an irritating pain all over her body, especially in the ribs, reminding her of the agonizing moments she faced the day before. The warmth of a body supporting her back was the only comfort.

The strong arms holding her waist, gave a much needed sense of security. After long minutes enjoying that moment she decided it was time to get up, taking his arms carefully not to wake her roommate, she got up from the bed and walked barefoot to the kitchen, ready to prepare breakfast.

Mystogan woke up with a sound of loud noises and for a moment he thought Magnolia was under attack. Taking a few seconds, in his sleepy state, to realize that the sounds were coming from the kitchen, he jumped off the bed and ran toward the noise. "Lucy, what do you think you're doing?" He asked a little alarmed, taking a shell from her hand, dragging her toward the table and sitting her on the chair, ignoring her protests. "Sit while I make breakfast." He stated, leaving no space for discussion.

"I can do this, Myst." She replied petulantly. "And since when do you cook?" She asked really curious about his cooking skills, since Gray and Natsu were unable to heat water for coffee without blowing up the kitchen.

"I lived a long time alone, remember?" He said rhetorically. "If I had not learned to cook, I would have starved."

Lucy thought what he said would make sense and decided to trust his word. "Then, surprise me." She said with a wink and a few minutes later was completely mesmerized by the graceful movements he made as he moved around the kitchen.

A few minutes later Mystogan completed the task and Lucy tried not to look so surprised when he set a plate of eggs and bacon, a bowl of sliced fruit and a deliciously steaming cup of coffee in front of her. When the overwhelming scent hit her nose, she sighed in contentment. "Marry me." She felt the eyes widen and the hand covered her mouth automatically, when she realized she had said that sentence aloud.

Mystogan failed to contain a smile that took over his lips, but he didn't know if it was because of the lovely bluch that adorned her cheeks or because his heart beat faster at hearing her say that. Not resisting the urge to tease her, he propped the elbows on the table and stared at her, very close. "I'm the one who should propose to you, Lu."

Lucy shifted in the chair and looked away, trying not to think how close he was. She smiled nervously and put a piece of bacon in the mouth. "This is delicious." She muttered without bothering to swallow before speaking.

Mystogan held back a laugh, deciding not to make her even more uncomfortable than she obviously already was. "We can talk about it another time." He muttered, unaware that her cheek had turned an even darker shade of red.

Lucy devoured breakfast, trying to ignore how that last statement of his made her stomach churn, as if there were millions of moths flying in it. She thought it best to think that feeling was due to the pain in her ribs and not to the fact that she felt ever closer to this mysterious man.

When she finished the meal, a memory hit her and she decided to share with him something that had been eroding her since the day before. "My father was responsible for Phantom Lord's attack."

Mystogan choked on a piece of bacon, but recovered quickly. "What?" He exclaimed, puzzled, hoping he had heard it wrong.

"He hired that guild to take me back home." She answered.

"But they hurted you." Mystogan replied incredulously.

Lucy smiled, but there was no humor in that gesture. "My father doesn't care about collateral damage as long as he gets what he wants in the end."

She felt Mystogan's hand grasp hers tightly on the table and looked up at him. "I need to go to him, to clear things up or he won't stop. And this time even worse damage can come. I don't want him to hurt anyone anymore."

Mystogan stroked her hand with the thumb. "If you need to go, I'll go with you."

Lucy smiled genuinely this time as she realized how much he cared about her. "I appreciate it Myst, but this is something I need to do on my own." She took a deep breath. "I ran away from my problems and it caused all this mess, this time I have to solve everything."

"I understand." He answered reluctantly. "How long the travel to your old home is?"

"Half a day." She answered promptly, not understanding the reason for his question.

"You have two days to work it out. If you don't come back in two days, I'll go after you." He said seriously.

Lucy knew that tone left no space for questioning and all she could do was nod. She ignored the heat that flooded her chest at the thought of how much he cared about her.

* * *

Mystogan was sitting comfortably on the couch, reading one of Lucy's large books, impatiently awaiting her return. He'd tried to stay calm since she left and thanked for not arising any Anima, but he was feeling anxious and he hated that feeling. A knock on the door interrupted his reading and the thoughts that ran unbridled in his mind.

He covered the face and hair and walked toward the door, not surprised to see Lucy's team on the other side. "Lucy is not home." He stated bluntly.

Before he could finish closing the door, Erza passed him without waiting for an invitation, entering the apartment, sitting on the couch, followed by Gray, Natsu and Happy.

"Make yourself at home." He muttered sarcastically, understanding for the first time the reasons for Lucy's constant complaints.

"Where did Luce go?" Natsu's angry voice broke the comfortable silence. "And why can't we enter through the window?"

Mystogan took a deep breath, sitting in the armchair that he had claimed as his own. "Lu, went to her childhood home." He responded, looking at everyone. "And you should not enter in the houses through the window, Natsu." He said to the pink-haired boy.

"Lucy left?" Everyone shouted at the same time, ignoring anything else he had said.

"How can you say that like it's nothing?" Natsu stood, shouting with obvious irritation and disbelief.

"I thought you liked her." Happy complained while crying.

Mystogan thanked the cloth covering his face when he felt the cheeks heat at the blue cat's statement. "Lucy didn't leave." He tried to calm them down before the apartment burned into flames. "Lucy went home to solve some problems with her father." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "She has until after lunch to get home or I'll go after her."

"We'll wait here with you." Erza stated firmly. "If she doesn't come back we'll get her."

"Don't break anything." Mystogan shouted to Natsu and Gray that were at the beginning of an argument. He leaned back in his chair and picked up the book, wishing with all his might that Lucy would hurry.

* * *

Mystogan kept the eyes glued to the clock on the living room wall, in the exact second the clock pointer indicated Lucy's arrival time, he stood, willing to come to her like promised. Before he could step forward, the apartment door opened and everyone in the room looked that direction.

"Myst, I'm home." Lucy's voice echoed through the apartment and Mystogan sat down again, letting out a relieved sigh.

Lucy slammed the door behind her, kicked off her boots, set them beside the door. When she looked up for the first time, she noticed her companions scattered across the room, comfortably, as if the place belonged to them. "Hey, guys." She greeted with a smile, glad to see everyone there.

She walked over to Mystogan and sat on the arm of the armchair where he was sitting. The feeling of having him around made her feel safe and when his hand caressed her thigh absently she smiled, happy to be home. "How was it with your father, my fairy?"

Mystogan continued to caress the exposed skin of her thigh affectionately and Lucy lost herself in his eyes as he stared at her, neither of them noticing the way the other occupants of the room looked at them curiously.

"Just as I suspected, he wanted me back so I could marry the son of a rich family." She ignored the firm grip in her tight after that statement and continued. "My father wanted me to marry the Junelle family heir to increase their fortune. He tried to convince me that it was my obligation to continue the family's legacy by producing an heir."

"This is absurd." Erza stated, completely outraged.

"What kind of father does something like that?" Gray said angrily.

"My father, apparently." Lucy answered.

"Did he hurt you?" Mystogan asked right away.

Lucy tried not to wince at the intensity that was reflected in his eyes and shook her head frantically in denial. "Everything is fine now." She assured. "Well, all I need now is a bath. After that, we can go to the guild and get a mission."

Before she could reach the bathroom, Gray threw an object at her, which she easily picked up. "Your keys. Loke recovered them after he fought someone from Phanton Lord and he asked to give them to you."

Lucy smiled and made a mental note to remind her to thank Loke later, if he didn't run away from her anyway. Looking at a particular key, she felt an involuntary shiver run through her body.

"What was that, Luce?" Natsu asked curiously, noticing her change of attitude.

"Aquarius will kill me."

* * *

The only mission available that required a group of as many wizards was a play, in a theater, that enslaved them for nearly a week. Lucy played the princess, Erza was the prince beside Gray, while Mystogan played the executioner who would perform the dragon (Natsu) at the end of the plot.

When they escaped the headmaster's clutches, Lucy suggested a trip to a spa. A suggestion everyone welcomed with open arms.

A relaxing bath in the hot springs was followed by a pillow fight, which Lucy was totally against, but was ignored by the excitement of her noisy teammates.

She was completely stunned to see Mystogan join in the deadly fight, but before she could roll up the sleeves and throw her own pillow, she was hit so hard that she flew out of the room. Deciding that the best thing for her health was to stay away from this room until the war was over, she summoned Plue and went for a walk through the Resort, enjoying the tranquility of the night under the starry sky.

Halfway through, Lucy fell victim to a Happy's gotcha, which made her too distracted to notice two malicious mages approaching her. Luckily, she was saved by Loke before something really unpleasant happened.

As a reward for saving her and retrieving her keys after Phanton Lord's attack, Lucy offered to pay for dinner. And before Loke could refuse, and she knew he would, if the look of despair on his face was any indication, she dragged him along the path, ignoring his protests.

* * *

Lucy returned to the room a few hours later, trying to ignore the strangeness of the conversation with Loke after dinner. She saw Mystogan lying against the porch railing, waiting for her.

"Where were you?" He asked, his voice just a whisper as he stared at her with a twinge of concern tinting his eyes.

"I decided to take a walk when the fight got too intense for me." She whispered back with an amused laugh as she remembered their excitement.

He approached her, offering a hand to help her up the stairs. "It's not safe to walk around alone. I heard from the local officials that some mages were attacking women around here."

"Oh, I found these guys." She said nonchalantly and only realized the seriousness of what she said when Mystogan brought her closer and examined her body.

"Lucy you-" He said a little too loudly.

Her hands found his mouth before he could continue. "Shhhh. You don't want to wake up Erza, believe me."

"Nothing happened. Loke showed up and helped me, I took him to dinner as reward." She explained in a low voice. "That was why I was late."

"Loke huh?" He asked with a suspicious tone in his voice. "He's a player, stay away from him." The words left his mouth before he could think too much, but he didn't regret it, for some reason all he wanted was to keep Lucy away from guys like Loke.

"Are you jealous?" Lucy asked playfully as she pushed him lightly with the shoulder.

"If I said yes, what would you do?" Lucy didn't know if she was more surprised by the hoarseness of his voice or with the question, but she felt a chill flooding every inch of her body. The way he approached and cornered her against the porch handrail, only made her feel even stranger. She liked that feeling even though she didn't know what it meant.

Lucy felt a little brave and that surprised her, she blamed the saké for lessening her inhibitions. Letting her hands wander absently over his exposed chest, thanking internally for the opening in his yukata. "I'd tell you to do something about it." She whispered closer than would be appropriate, but the smell coming from him was heady and the way his skin felt soft under her fingertips made her not want to move away.

Mystogan felt an involuntary shiver in his spine, and the place where Lucy's fingers were caressing his skin seemed to burn. He sighed audibly and raised a hand toward the mask over his face, willing to move even closer to her.

"You forgot I'm here, didn't you?" Happy's voice echoed above them, bringing them back to reality.

"Happy." Lucy screamed irritably and stared at the sneaky cat.

Mystogan watched Lucy chase the flying cat toward the room, threatening Happy with physical harm if he peeked once more.

He stayed a few more minutes on the porch, wondering what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted.

* * *

The way home was filled with the fights between Gray and Natsu, and Erza's threats, while Lucy considered the events of last night.

"Luce, you're not listening me." Natsu's voice brought her back to reality.

"Yes, whatever you say." She answered vaguely hoping that was the right answer. When she glanced at Mystogan, she realized that he was looking at her with such a piercing look that made her feel exposed.

"You look stranger than usual, Lucy." Natsu stated aloud.

"Shut up." She replied.

"She is acting like this because-." Happy didn't finish the sentence, because Lucy's hands were on him before he could.

"What did I say about opening your mouth, Happy?" She grunted irritably.

At one point she was grateful for the distraction Happy provided, because she was tired of thinking about what the last night would have been, if there was no interruption.

* * *

After lunch in the guild, each member of the group went their own way for the day. Erza had a heated argument with Laxus. Natsu and Gray continued to fight for no apparent reason. Mystogan helped with the rebuilding of the Master's office, while Lucy decided to remain seated at the bar, enjoying the delicious dessert Mira offered for free.

Unfortunately a group of girls broke into the guild hall, that was under reconstruction after Phanton Lord's attack. The group of angry girls demanded Mira tell them where Loke was.

Mira's voice begging for help made Lucy sigh inwardly and wish she had stayed home.

After nearly being attacked by the flock of mad women, she decided that the best thing for her physical integrity was, literally, to run home.

Lucy lay down on the bed the moment she reached her apartment, letting her mind race with respect to the strange things that had happened in the last few days.

"What are you thinking about, Lushy?" Happy's voice echoed in the bedroom walls.

"Loke." She responded absently as she thought about how he had acted at the Resort over dinner and why he had broken up with all his girlfriends.

"I thought you liked Mystogan." Happy stated mockingly.

"And I like him." Lucy answered automatically and almost hit herself for be so distracted that she didn't measure the words. "Wait. That's not it." She took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of the way Loke was acting weird, don't you think?"

When Happy nodded in agreement, Lucy decided to ask one of her spirits for help. With Crux's help she and Happy discovered much more than they had imagined.

In the second Crux returned to the Celestial Kingdom, Lucy and Happy heard a loud noise in the apartment, making them hug each other for protection.

Gray's naked figure emerged from the hearth, surprising them. "Lucy, Loke has disappeared." He shouted as he stood in the middle of her room.

"Why the hell did you come in the hearth?" She shouted irritably.

"You lock the windows and I-"

"Who disappeared?" She interrupted his babbling, wondering what he had said previously.

"Loke has disappeared, everyone is looking for him." Gray answered, not bothering that he was interrupted, relieved that she didn't kick him for invading the place.

Lucy didn't wait for Gray or Happy, leaving the apartment, heading out to where she expected Loke to be. She regretted not noticing the change in his behavior before.

* * *

By the time Lucy got home, the night had fallen over Magnolia. After the events in the waterfall where she met Loke, all she wanted was to fall into bed. Taking off her boots and locking the door behind her, she threw the keys anywhere and walked toward the bed with both eyes already closed.

"You're late." Mystogan's voice made her open the eyes.

"Hey." She whispered to him. "Did I wake you up?" She asked a little worried that she had made a noise and disturbed his sleep.

Mystogan noticed that her clothes were a little dirty and wrinkled and her face said she was exhausted. He got up from the couch and walked toward her. "What happened?" He questioned.

Lucy yawned and sat on the bed, tapping the empty space beside her, indicating for him to sit. "You won't believe me when I tell you." She laid her head on his shoulder as he sat beside her.

Almost an hour later Lucy was lying beside Mystogan on the bed, completely relaxed.

"So... Loke is a spirit?" He asked genuinely puzzled after everything Lucy had said about her encounter with Loke and the King Celestial apparition.

She muttered something intelligible to him and laid her head on his chest. "What was that?" He murmured, enjoying the scent of her hair.

Lucy raised her head, and for the first time, they realized their position. One of Lucy's legs was on his while his hand was lying lazily on her thigh.

Lucy felt his hand caress her hair, and she felt her breath grow faster as she realized he was looking at her the same way he did that night at the Resort.

Mystogan tried to ignore the acceleration in his heartbeat and concentrated on the way her mouth was too close. He allowed himself to run his fingers through the golden strands.

Her lips moved when she called his name in a whisper and he couldn't resist the desire to feel her.

Lucy felt his thumb skimming her lips and before she could stop herself, she pressed her lips to his, liking the way he gasped with obvious surprise.

"You taste like strawberry." He said the moment she move away.

Lucy smiled at his comment and thought he looked a lot like a boy in that moment. "We can do better." She didn't wait for his reaction and pushed him onto the mattress, positioning herself on top of him, admiring how wide his shoulders were and how firm his chest felt under her hands. Before he could say anything she kissed him again, not waiting for permission.

Lucy licked his lower lip, without hesitation, he opened his mouth, moaning audibly as she dipped her tongue into his mouth.

The only thing she could think of was that for someone who had never kissed, he was a fast learner, all she could feel was his hands on her body and hair, all she could hear was her own heartbeat, speeding up with every passing second. She forgot all her previous tiredness and wished the day was only a little late.

"Uau." It was the first thing that left Mystogan's mouth as they pulled back to catch a much needed breath.

He pulled her to lay the head on his chest, hoping she didn't see the way he was probably blushing. "You've done it before." He stated and tried to ignore the strange feeling that had come over him at the thought of Lucy doing this to anyone but him.

"My father used to do a lot of balls for-" She paused and sighed as she remembered the reason for her father's parties. "To choose future suitors for me." She decided not to get upset with the memory and quickly changed the topic. "During the balls, I escaped to the garden with a boy a few times."

"How many times?" Mystogan asked.

"Four..." She looked at him. "Or five, maybe six." She laughed when she saw him frowning with obvious irritation after her statement. "Oh, come on. At least I've never had one-night stands." She teased him.

"Urgh." He moaned in frustration. "I should never have told you about that." He grunted making her laugh even more.

When a comfortable silence fell over them. Lucy decided to break it. "What are we now, Myst?"

He pulled her closer and caressed her face. "I'll be whatever you want me to be." When she smiled in response he didn't resist the urge to kiss her again, pushing her into the bed, liking the way her body fit his perfectly.

Lucy pushed him away before his hands found paths they shouldn't have. "It's time to sleep." She stated, trying not to look shy.

Mystogan found her adorable, acting shy when things got out of her control. He didn't care, he would wait her time for whatever it was and decided he would let her guide the pace of this new relationship.

"Do you know the best part?" He muttered sleepily. "Now I don't need to sleep on the couch anymore."

Lucy was too tired to hit him with a blow, so she did the second best thing in her arcenal of ways to deal with Fairy Tail men. "Say something that pisses me off and you go back to the couch." She knew the threats were effectives in fifty percent of the cases, it would have to do for now.

* * *


	9. A bottle in a tall tower.

"Good morning, sunshine." Mystogan's hoarse voice echoed through the room bringing Lucy back of the dreamland.

When she turned the face to face him, she was bestowed with a lazy smile that left her almost breathless. The first thought that invaded her mind was that she could be awakened with that smile every day as long as she lived.

"Good morning, Myst." She murmured sleepily, returning the smile.

Mystogan kissed her forehead and buried the face in Lucy's neck, enjoying the delicious smell she emitted.

"Let's stay home today." He grunted, wanting to spend the day in that bed beside her.

Lucy let out a laugh and stroked his blue hair, which slid easily through her fingers.

"There is no chance of that happening." She hated having to sour his mood.

"I don't intend to leave this apartment today, and you won't either…" He murmured without even shifting his position.

Lucy liked when he acted like a spoiled brat, even though she hated the childishness of Natsu and Gray, she wondered how far Mystogan could affect her. Not that she was complaining, she loved the way he could convince her to do whatever he wanted, not that she meant to say it out loud, ever.

"I need to go to the guild and tell about what happened to Loke yesterday, remember?" She justified.

He made a sound of discontent as he turned away from her, and lifted his upper body, leaning on his elbows. "I had forgotten about that." He stared at her for a few seconds. "So you make the breakfast." He said before lying down again and closing the eyes.

Lucy laughed and hit him with a pillow before getting out of bed. "Yes, Majesty."

She walked toward the kitchen before realizing she was wearing the same dirty clothes as the day before and changed directions. "But only after I take a shower." She added disappearing into the bathroom.

* * *

A half hour later, Lucy came out of the bathroom ready for the day. Wishing that none of her clothes to be burned or cut off in that day.

She looked at the bed where Mystogan was exactly like before. She smiled to herself and threw a clean towel over his head. "The bathroom is all yours."

He rose from the bed grunting words she didn't understand and didn't even try to understand, and Lucy watched him walk lazily to the bathroom.

A short while later, the creaking of the bathroom door made Lucy look in that direction to see a wet-haired Mystogan wearing nothing but a rolled-up towel around his waist. She swallowed with some difficulty the saliva that had accumulated in her mouth.

Mystogan didn't miss the way Lucy's eyes wandered over his body, looking him up and down. Taking advantage of her stunned condition, he walked toward her, he grasped her delicate chin with his thumb and forefinger and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Do you like what you're seeing?" He teased with a crooked smile.

She emerged from the daze she had fallen into and looked up, staring at him, hoping he wouldn't see how she was blushing. "You did it on purpose." She accused.

He kept the smile on his lips and scratched his neck. "Actually, I didn't find my clothes. I swore I had left it in the bathroom yesterday."

Lucy smiled nervously and whispered something he didn't understand.

"What was it?" He asked, intrigued to see her acting like that and genuinely curious about what she had babbled.

She cleared her throat and looked away from him. "I got rid of them."

"You did what?" He asked automatically, wondering what the hell he was going to wear now, since those were the only clothes that hid all the traits that could make anyone recognize him like Jellal.

She sighed and looked to him. "While I was in the bathroom this morning I looked at those things you call clothes, and decided you deserved better. So I summoned Virgo and asked her to help me."

Before he could answer she ran into the bathroom and left a few seconds later, carrying a reasonably large box in her hands.

"This is for you." She held out her arms, giving him the box, not meeting his eyes.

Mystogan narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but took the box from her hands, walked over to the bed, depositing the box, he opened it.

Lucy almost shouted when she saw him taking off the towel, but sighed with relief or perhaps disappointment, when she saw that he was wearing underwear.

"Try, please." She whispered to him.

Mystogan pulled some things out of the box, scattering them on the bed. He wore black pants that fit his body perfectly, a dark shirt that looked like the night sky of the Island where he met Lucy, the long sleeves fit perfectly in his arms and he liked it.

He looked down and saw a piece of cloth, when he held in front of him to get a better look, found that it was a cover. He paid attention to every detail, the dark color, the blue details at the edges, the blue stone clasp matching his hair.

"Do you like it?" He asked as he turned to face Lucy who was looking at him all the time

For a moment she feared that he would hate everything and find her a intrusive "If you don't like it I ask Virgo to bring your old clothes back."

He put on the new cloak and walked over to her, kissing her forehead the moment he reached her. "I loved everything. Thanks for the gift, Lucy."

Lucy sighed with relief after that statement. "For a moment I thought you would be upset."

He tucked some hair strands behind her ear, delicately. "I would never be bothered with you caring of me."

She smiled and looked at his bare feet. "There's just one more thing."

Mystogan watched as she reached into the box and pulled out a pair of socks and a pair of black boots, handing it to him right away. "I think this is better than bandages and slippers."

He poked her nose after she gave a mocking giggle. Without much thought, he sat on the bed and put on his new shoes, then jumped to his feet to test it. "I can get used to being spoiled like that." He murmured with a silly smile that she found incredibly adorable.

"You're a prince." She wrapped her arms around his waist and was pleased when he returned the hug. "You deserve so much more than that."

"Not in this world." He replied. "In this world I'm only another mage."

Hearing him say it so sincerely made Lucy feel sad for some reason unknown to her. She threw him on the bed, not caring when the box fell to the floor. "To me you're Royalty. And I will treat you like that, Prince Jellal." She whispered before kissing him.

Mystogan wanted to disagree but he was too busy trying to keep control of himself while her body was so deliciously pressed against his. All he knew at that moment was if she wanted him to be a prince or a beggar, he would be.

* * *

They entered the guild hand by hand, which did not go unnoticed by a certain white-haired woman who had a knowingly smiled, keeping that image in her memory for posterity.

Lucy greeted everyone as she walked to the usual table her team occupied. She sat next to Mystogan and suddenly a flash of light appeared, forcing them to close their eyes.

When she opened the eyes again Loke was sitting on the other side of her.

"How did you do it?" She asked, intrigued, because she do not fell some change in her magic.

Loke smiled. "Now that my powers are regenerated I can force my own gate to open."

"Isn't that cheating?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Loke laughed and opened his mouth to retort when he was interrupted by the noise of Natsu and Gray's arrival.

"Where did you find these funny clothes?" Natsu asked as he and Gray sat on the bench in front of them.

Lucy didn't know if the question was directed to Loke or Mystogan.

Loke sighed and told them all about being a celestial spirit and how Lucy saved him, leaving out only the part about Karen.

"Now it makes sense..." Natsu muttered. "I always smelled a weird odor in you."

"I have no weird odor." Loke snapped angrily.

"I always thought it was from all the girls around you..." Natsu kept muttering, ignoring Loke's protests.

Loke turned to face Lcy, completely ignoring Natsu. "I just came to give this to you, princess." He put something in her hand. "These are tickets for a few days at Akane Resort." He explained. "Thank you for everything." He said almost shyly and stood up. "I already gave one to Erza. Now I need to go back." He kissed Lucy's cheek and disappeared before she could complain.

"I told you to stay away from him." Mystogan grunted, wrapping an arm around her waist, bringing her close.

"It will be almost impossible now that he is one of my spirits, Mr. Jealous." She said playfully as she leaned closer to him.

"What's going on between you?" Gray's voice sounded curious.

Lucy opened her mouth to say they were a couple now, but Erza's appearance interrupted her. "You must pack, if you don't want to miss the train to Akane Resort." Her voice had a commanding tone.

"We'll meet at the train station in an hour." Lucy answered and got up quickly.

Mystogan followed without question, but found the sudden rush very strange. He didn't know she was so excited for a weekend at a resort.

When they were away from the guild, Lucy stopped in front of him and tiptoed. "If you take us home through the portal, we'll spend some time together... alone." she whispered too close to his lips.

Mystogan smiled as he understood the reason for her hurry, without much thought he pulled her around the waist and slammed a staff on the floor, willing to spend a lot of time alone with her.

* * *

_Later in Akane Resort Hotel..._

When they reached the hotel room that was big enough for all of them, Gray and Natsu threw their things on the bedroom floor and ran to the beach, followed by Happy.

Erza, Lucy and Mystogan packed their bags and followed shortly after.

The day went by so fast that they barely noticed when the sun went down until Erza announced that she would return to the room to sleep.

Gray disappeared with a pretty girl while Natsu and Happy ran to play at the casinos.

Lucy and Mystogan watched their friends leaving and sat on the sand, watching the sun disappear behind the ocean, leaving a trail of color in the sky.

Lucy sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. "I could do that every day." She muttered to herself.

"With you, so could I." He answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, wishing with all his might that no anima would come at that moment.

When the sun faded, Lucy stepped out of his embrace and smiled. "We can find Natsu at the casinos, what do you think?" She asked, catching for her bag. When she stood up, Lucy noticed that the bag was heavier than before she reached the beach.

She opened it curiously, ready to throw all of Natsu's stuff into the sea, knowing that he had probably filled her bag with things he found on the beach.

"What is it?" Mystogan asked intrigued when he saw Lucy pull a bottle out of her bag.

"I have no idea where this came from." She answered, so intrigued as he.

"Let me see." He analyzed the bottle when she gave it to him.

A small note was pinned to the bottom of the bottle and Lucy joined him to read what was written.

_'Princess, enjoy the gift. I await my punishment later. '_

"Virgo." They both said the same time and laughed.

"Do you want to try?" Lucy asked.

Mystogan's response was to take a long sip. "It's good." He grunted and handed the bottle to Lucy.

* * *

A few hours later Gray decided to go back to the casino and try some games, after his date was completely frustrated when the restaurant aquarium mysteriously wetted the girl with him, forcing her to end the night.

He walked the streets with both hands in the pockets as he passed a chapel.

He think that someone would have to be crazy or been too drunk to get married in a place like this. Gray was so distracted that he didn't realize there was a couple leaving the chapel rin that moment.

He opened the mouth to apologize but gave up in the moment he realized he knew that couple.

The voices of best regards to the newlyweds, which echoed from inside the chapel, drove him out of his dazed state.

"What the hell?" He shouted completely stunned to see Mystogan holding hands with Lucy who had a wedding veil over her head.

"Hey Gray." Lucy greeted lazily with a choked voice.

Gray grabbed her arm to keep her from falling as she stumbled when turned too fast to face him.

"Take your hands off my wife." Mystogan said hoarsely as he pulled Lucy to his chest.

Lucy smiled. "You're cute when you're jealous." She murmured before kissing him over the cloth that covered his face.

Gray picked up the bottle being held absently by a very drunk Lucy. "How much of that did you drink?"

Mystogan turned away from Lucy's kiss and stared at Gray as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh! Hi Gray."

Gray patted his forehead, feeling his patience diminish with each passing second. "How much of that did you drink?" He asked again, shaking the bottle in front of them for emphasis.

Lucy took the bottle back and took another drink before Gray could stop it. "Do you know the best part? No matter how much you drink, it never ends."

Gray wanted to yell at them for being such idiots or even leaving them for themselves on the streets of Akane, but they were his friends and needed help, even if it didn't seem.

He took the bottle from her hand again. "Follow me." He declared and marched toward the hotel, waiting for them to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Mysgtogan asked in a slightly suspicious tone.

Gray took a deep breath, thinking of the answer. "I'll take you to your room."

"For our honeymoon?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"Yes, of course." He answered absently as he thought of a way to get Erza to help him without her killing them all.

* * *

Gray reached their room and opened the door, pulling the very drunk couple behind him.

"Sit down and wait here." He said pointing to the bed and headed to another room looking for Erza.

He found her lying on a chaise lounge on the porch and fought whit himself about whether or not to disturb her. Deciding to act fast he pulled her by the hand and dragged her into the bedroom before she had a chance to strike him.

Erza frowned and looked at the bed where Lucy was lying on Mystogan's chest.

"It's a good time to take a nap." Gray muttered to himself.

"Gray, you better have a good explanation for disturbing my sleep." Erza hissed, making him shudder.

"They are married." He answered without thinking, pointing to the couple sleeping peacefully in bed.

"They what?" Erza shouted, hoping he would say anything but that.

"I think it was the fault of this thing." He handed the bottle to Erza.

She sniffed the drink and took a sip. "It do not looks like anything I've ever had, no label either."

"You ask them when they wake up." Gray said walking toward the adjoining room. "Who needs a drink now, is me."

* * *

Lucy was lying, curled up in the warm arms of Mystogan, when a loud noise frightened her and a smoke filled the room making her cough.

Mystogan awoke to the noise and jumped out of bed, pulling Lucy with him, hiding her behind him. "Who are you and what do you want?" He shouted at a shirtless man who had a strange mask over mouth and a turban on head.

"Where's Erza?" The man asked in a monotone voice.

"Damn, my head hurts." Lucy murmured, ignoring the two men.

"Where's Erza? It's your last chance." The man repeated.

"I'm here, Simon." Erza said coming out of the other room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Gray asked sleepily, rubbing his exposed belly.

"The time is over." Simon stated in the same monotone and the room was engulfed in darkness.

A few seconds later the light came back and the room looked exactly the same except for Erza's absence.

Realizing her disappearance, Gray's sleep completely disappeared and Lucy and Mystogan ignored the throbbing headache to concentrate on what had happened.

"Tonight just gets worse by the minute." Gray stated with a mixture of frustration and anger.

"Why does my head hurt so much?" Lucy asked as she put on the shoes, willing to run after Erza, literally.

Gray laughed nervously as he put on a shirt. "This is a very funny story, but I'll tell you after we recover Erza."

"We have to find Natsu first." Mystogan stated and when everyone agreed, they left the room, willing to bring everything down to bring Erza back.

* * *

At the casino they found Natsu and Happy. Natsu ran out of the casino, sniffing the air desperately for Erza's scent, after Lucy told what had happened.

When they reached the beach, the Phantom Lord girl whom Gray had defeated to save Lucy, offered help. And even reluctantly they accepted.

Natsu's nose led them to an island in the middle of the ocean, where there was a immensely high tower.

They swam to the island and were attacked the second they hit the first foot on solid ground. After defeating each soldier, a ramp giving access to the interior of the island opened to let them in.

"Do they want us inside?" Gray asked confused.

"It's as if we had won a phase of some bizarre game." Lucy commented.

"I don't think we should go in." Mystogan answered cautiously.

"Erza is in there." Natsu snapped and walked toward the opening. "Aren't you coming?" He asked rhetorically as he entered without looking back.

Mystogan pulled Lucy close to him. "Don't get away from me." He whispered to her.

Lucy took his hand and stared at him seriously. "If you know anything, you have to tell us." She begged. "Who could want to hurt Erza and bring us here?"

Mystogan sighed heavily and pulled her even closer. "Jellal".


End file.
